The Purgers
by Aquatic-Idealist
Summary: A year has passed since Ginta left Mar Heaven.  Our heroes thought that the War Games were over, but sinister things are beginning to sprout.  Mar Heaven calls for our heroes to rise once again, but will they be ready for what is yet to come?
1. The Seige of Reginlief

Author's note: I've only read the Manga, and I have done some research allowing me to know some Chess Piece names. Otherwise, I have no idea what the fate of some of these characters were in the Anime, as I've watched a small number of episodes of it. Because of this, the names of several territories may not be canon, and I will actually name some cities of Mar for my own accord. I know nothing about Mar Omega other than the fact that it exists. Now, please enjoy my fic.

The Purgers

"That... That treacherous bastard! He defeated me in combat! How could he have done it? How could I have lost? I'm Halloween! The second most powerful of the Chess Pieces! Now, with Phantom dead, my comrades need me... They need my power to move on... I can't stay like this... Can't stay weak and uncertain of myself... No, I have to find them... I have to let them know that I, Halloween, am still alive, and that I am fully capable of leading them again. Alan will be sorry that he spared me, for I shall take his life!"

A year has passed since the heroes of Mar crushed the Chess Pieces and killed their leader, Phantom, the man whom everyone believed was immortal. With Mar disbanded, and Mar Heaven at peace, the Cross Guard continue to train under the leadership of Alan and Alviss. Gaira has mysteriously disappeared, leaving these two warriors to train thousands of new recruits, eager to defend Mar from any threat.

Jack, son of the mighty Cross Guard warrior, Jake, has successfully run a profitable farm. He grows a variety of vegtables, and, thus, the little house that he and his mother resided in has now become a much more impressive estate. But Jack, ever the humble one, lives with his girlfriend Pano and his mother without any truly lavish aspects in their lifestyle.

Dorothy of Caldea is well known as a formidable sorceress. After learning that she was the one who defeated Diana, no one dared to face her in combat. Even after this entire time, she still dreams of Ginta, and wonders how the young lad is doing in his own world.

And Nanashi, flirtatious as ever, continues to run the Thieves Guild of Luberia, with Galian's assistance, of course. The two old friends continue to help their many comrades in the rebuilding of the fortress, and they steal some more goods here and there.

But these heroes will soon realize that their merry lives are short lived. Mar Heaven is once again in a state of crisis, and hope rests on their shoulders. Even though Phantom is dead, an equally terrible force is looming in the horizion...

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Chapter 1: The Siege of Reginlief

"Comrades, our time for vengeance has come. Peta is dead... Phantom is dead... And with their deaths, we must rebuild! But we are not like those pathetic Cross Guards. We do not have to start from scratch, with only a few members alive. There are many of us, and the only reason why we are not as powerful as we once were is because we lack a leader, a voice of power who will lead us to victory. That is why, comrades, I am here. I will be your leader. I will guide you to victory. Trust me, as you trusted Phantom, and we shall win." Halloween smiled as he surveyed the large group of former Chess Pieces before him.

After Ginta and his father left Mar Heaven forever, the surviving Chess Pieces were forced to disband and wonder the world in search of some meaning in their life. Recently, Halloween was able to regain contact with Pinocchio, Girom, and Kouga, and the four of them did what they could to contact all of their former comrades. Many of them came from all walks of life, and from every corner of Mar Heaven, wondering what kind of encouragement Halloween would give them in this dark hour.

"But what makes you so sure we will succeed? Phantom... He was a mighty warrior... You are not weak, yet Alan defeated you. And I... Well... I failed to defeat that monkey, Jack. The new Cross Guard members have learned their mistakes from the previous War Game, so how can we ensure our victory?" Candice spoke up.

"Besides, young one, though we've all become stronger over the past year, our enemies have as well. I doubt that we'll have the chance to win against the Cross Guard, especially if all of their warriors are still alive." Weasel added.

"Yes... The Cross Guard are so scary now, and, well, so many of our friends are dead: Chimera, Peta, Rapunzel, Orco, Maira, Kannochi, Kollekio, and Avrute. A lot of our strongest members, like Ash, Ian, Galian, and Magical Roe, have left our sides. Magical Roe is a Cross Guard, and both Ash and Ian will probably be Cross Guards when they hear of our return. Galian is a Luberian, and he seems happy that he's reunited with them. I'm so scared... When we do return, what will they do to us?..." Rolan groaned.

"Have you so little faith? Did we surrender when Phantom was beaten by Ginta? We can rise a second time!" Pinocchio snarled.

"Actually, Pinocchio, we nearly surrendered, except that Diana and the Orb were much too stubborn, so we were unable to admit our defeats." Weasel replied.

Halloween began to turn angry. He hobbled forward and shouted: "So even if victory is not certain, you are saying that we should be cowards and hide in the shadows?! What has become of you, comrades?! We are the Chess Pieces! We made all of Mar Heaven cringe under our might. We can do it again! The two who defeated Phantom are gone. They were our greatest of threats, yet now they have disappeared. Alan may be around, and it is true that he is stronger, but so am I! And though I was defeated in the last battle, I've learned my lesson. Defense, comrades, is what we shall master. Endurance, comrades, is what we will wield against the Cross Guard. They collapsed once before us, and they will fall once again. Have faith, my friends. Faith saved Mar and the Cross Guard. They put their trust in their champion, Ginta. Now we shall have that same faith in ourselves. We will cleanse this world of the weak, and ensure that the strong will survive. Join me, and do not fear the future. Embrace it! What do you have to lose? Mar Heaven's residents have taken everything from you. Many of us are known as traitors and bandits. They have abandoned us yet again, so we shall turn our backs on them. What do we owe these wretched fools, anyway? Nothing! It is the survival of the fittest. We will be the top of the food chain. We will crush them like they crushed us! Remember Phantom's words: No matter what, the Chess Pieces shall conquer this land. To arms, my friends, TO ARMS!"

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Castle Reginleif is located on the Western Continent of Mar Heaven. It is quite a beautiful place. Evergreens shimmer with an emerald aura, and several species of birds live in their barks. Their melodious chirping is able to calm any weary traveler. Every spring, hordes of wildflowers bloom in colors that fill the entire spectrum. Unfortunately, the city is defended by newly recruited Cross Guard warriors, for none of the three surviving veterans of the second War Game: Gaira, Alviss, and Alan, are stationed there.

Of course, because none of those champions were there, the Chess Pieces would not find it difficult to take the castle.

Though the attack was at night, the Cross Guard had several sentries on duty. Not surprisingly, they spotted the Chess approaching.

"Wait... That can't be? Chess?! I'd better contact our headquarters at Lestava!" A Cross Guard sentry ran for a nearby communication Dimension Arm, but he was suddenly struck down by another Cross Guard. "It looks like our time to shine has come!" This warrior turned to a few of his comrades, who began to laugh and turned on the other Guards fighting the Chess.

With traitors in their midst, and foes slowly taking parts of their base, the last survivors of the Cross Guards of Reginleif gathered their remaining arms and unleashed them upon their opponents. Mighty Guardians like the Flying Leo and Bururu rushed at the Chess, consuming a few Pawns in their wake, but Halloween made short work of them with his flames. Weasel covered the castle with deadly toxic vegetation, poisoning those brave warriors. Their corpses filled the halls of the castle as the Chess Pieces and their new allies celebrated their victories. Thankfully for them, they prevented any distress calls from leaving the area, so none of the other Cross bases knew of this victory. Maybe, just maybe, the Chess would have their hold on Mar Heaven once again!

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If any of the Chess in this chapter seemed out of character, then please do not be too meticulous about such details. But I would appreciate it if you'd give me a heads-up. I might have an update for this fic once I've completed a few of my other ones. I really enjoy writing fanfics, as you can tell by looking at the other fanfics I've written, but I have to finish as many of them as I can before updating this one, so you might have to wait for an update. Thanks again for reading this!


	2. The Vow of Lestava

Chapter 2: The Vow of Lestava

Only a year had gone by, yet, in Magical Roe's eyes, it seemed that fate had given him a reprieve. The fact that he was a major member of the Chess was quite unnerving, especially when he was forced to fight Snow. Well, the fight with Snow wasn't the worst experience he had. Quite frankly, it was when Gaira, Nanashi, and Alan teamed up to defeat him, and when Alan slammed Magical Roe into the wall of Castle Lestava.

_"Tell me, you F-ing clown! Where has Diana put Snow?!"_ (1.)

_"Master Alan, please..."_

_"I'll shove my fist down your throat and rip out your trachea if you won't tell me!"_

_"Master... Alan... Diana's trapped her in the main throne room. Please... Go save Snow! I beg of you!..."_

Magical Roe sighed. He was too ashamed to look Alan in the eye, even now, since he was a part of the Chess. But, like Ash and Ian, he left the ways of darkness for good, and now, he was a Cross Guard, and one of Alviss's subordinates. Alan still could hardly forgive Magical Roe, and was always warning Alviss to watch his back. Alan also offered to smash Roe with Air Hammer whenever Roe seemed, well, eccentric.

Roe was enlisted as Snow's personal messenger, and, making a point to avoid Alan at all costs, Roe would inform Alviss of whatever Snow requested. However, when Snow asked Magical Roe to meet her in her chambers that evening, her majesty was making a very serious request.

"Magical Roe, my scouts have informed me that the Thieves Guild of Luberia have been wrecking havoc in the Continent of Hild. Since we are the headquarters of the Cross Guard, I believe that it is our duty to help the people of Mar Heaven whenever they need it. I order you to pass my edict to Alan, whom I give the complete authority to march upon Luberia and force them to stand down. Nanashi may have been an old ally of ours, but if he insists on causing so much harm, he will have to be dealt with. I pray that Alan won't kill him, but I would like Nanashi to learn a very strict lesson. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my Queen."

"Very well, I know that you and Alan have had an uneasy history, but please work together and stop the Luberians."

"Yes, my Queen."

"Go on, tell Alan."

Magical Roe forced himself to walk out the door and actively search for Alan.

The clown found Alan standing on the castle wall smoking one of his trademark cigars.

"Master Alan."

"Roe, if you're not planning to kill me, then look at me in the eye and tell me what you want."

"Master Alan, her majesty has ordered us to attack Luberia, for the Theives Guild is wrecking havoc on the Hild Continent. As the leader of the Cross Guard, she gave you the complete authority to take whatever measures are necessary to stop them. She requested, however, that you not kill Nanashi."

"So the Queen wants me to kick Nanashi's arse. Very well, Roe, go fetch Alviss, we're going to pay the Guild a little visit." Alan smiled and began to crack his knuckles.

Magical Roe was quite intimidated by the gesture. "Of course, Master Alan." He bowed and scurried away.

----------

Alviss, Roe, and Alan, along with 150 elite Cross Guard troops, arrived in the border of Luberian territory. Galian was actually there to greet them.

"Ah, Cross Guards. How can we help you?" Galian asked, controlling himself from grabbing onto Hiraiken.

Alan eyed the former Knight suspiciously: "We're old friends of Nanashi."

"So I've heard." Galian forced a smile. "Our leader is quite busy, though."

"Master Galian, as second in command of the Luberians, could you provide us with a detailed account of your recent activities?" Roe asked cheerfully.

Alviss glared at the short clown as though he was an idiot. Alan was about to punch at something, furious with Roe's stupidity.

"And why would I do that?" Galian answered calmly, but sternly.

Before Roe could answer, Alviss did it for him: "We're just making sure that all citizens of Mar Heaven are doing well. If you need any help, you can always count on the Cross Guard."

"Why thank you." Galian nodded. With the cloth covering his eyes, neither of the two veterans could tell what the Luberian was thinking, but his body language showed that he was clearly suspicious of them.

Alviss raised an eyebrow.

"But we're fine, quite fine, actually. But let me..." Galian was cut off by a sudden noise.

"Hey, Galian! Whatcha doin'?" A chipper voice shouted.

Galian looked as though he had just made a horrible blunder: "Nanashi, we have visitors."

"Really?" The thief scanned the area with his eyes. "Oh, hey, Alan! You look well. And Alviss too! And um, Magical Roe..." Nanashi spoke the last name with a little uncertainty, and was just about to ready Griffin Lance just in case.

"He's with us..." Alviss sighed.

"Oh, that's always good. Yeah, you Cross Guard need more people." Nanashi nodded sagely. Galian looked like he was going to puke, and Alan appeared to want to join him.

"But, with all seriousness, we have a job we need to do. Air Hammer!" Alan yelled. The Dimension arm provided a huge blow that knocked Nanashi on the ground.

Galian drew the Hiraiken. "How dare you attack us without provocation!"

"We have heard that you Luberians are conducting illegal activities, as usual. Therefore, her majesty Snow ordered that you ought to be taught a lesson." Alan snarled while cracking his knuckles.

Alviss readied the thirteen Totem pole, making it into its rod version. "Galian of Luberia, are you ready to face one of the Cross Guard's finest?" He challenged.

"I'd be glad to." Galian sneered as he pointed his sword at the younger man.

Alan stepped towards Nanashi. "Show me what you've got, punk." He snickered.

"Old man, you're gonna pay for that! Griffin Lance!" Nanashi commanded. He wielded a wicked lance, and began to plunge it at Alan, while Galian and Alviss began to clash their weapons.

After a few seconds of fighting, Galian lept to the side, and, thus, got himself quite a distance away from Alviss and Magical Roe. Alviss charged at his opponent, who smiled and shouted: "Weapon Arm: Electric Frisbee!"

Alviss screamed as many volts of electricity pounded themselves into his slender body. He twisted and turned, howling at the pain. Galian smirked: "I'm not the same guy you saw Nanashi take down a year ago. I've turned stronger, and so has Nanashi."

As if on cue, Alviss heard Alan wail: "This thing's grabbing my leg. Ow ow... Ow ow ow ow ow..."

Alviss heard Galian chuckle, and explain: "Gymnote."

The lad who beat Rolan last year was finding his fight with Galian to be... Well... Quite tormenting. He started howling again, and Galian sighed: "I expected a good fight from you. I guess I was wrong."

Suddenly, another voice shouted: "Nature Arm: Frost Storm!"

A large number of seracs plunged through the air and slammed into the frisbees, destroying each of them. Alviss weakly collapsed on the ground. "So I won... But here comes a new challenger." Galian spoke with surprise and awe. (2.)

From the sidelines, an old man emerged. He had the look of burning determination in his eyes. "Alviss, get back. You need more training. I gave you the Thirteen Totem Poles, expecting you'd be able to handle that situation, but I guess it was simply too strong for you. You of all people know that you can't afford something like that to happen again, so I'll handle him."

"Yes, teacher..." Alviss nodded and got up.

Gaira was standing in front of Galian, and the Luberian was staring at the old man with his mouth agape: "So you're fighting again?!"

"You can't be that scared, can you? Come on! That Arm shouldn't have drained that much energy."

"Right. I want to see how strong you are, old man. Come try me!" Galian smiled and readied his arms.

Gaira simply stood there, observing what Galian would do next.

"No wonder you lost to Chimera!" Galian taunted. He lifted the Hiraiken, lept forward, and swung down...

"Guardess!" Gaira commanded.

Galian found that he and his sword were literally leaning on a large shield with a huge cross on it. Behind the shield, Gaira was calmly eating some blue beans.

"Wait, beans aren't blue, are they?" Galian thought, losing his concentration for a second. He was rewarded with a swift kick to the face.

Galian yelped and fell on the floor. Gaira simply chuckled: "Don't be so quick to underestimate people, boy!"

Galian was confused.

"Nature arm, Enduring Beans, and Weapon arm, Guardess are the two arms you saw just now. I realized that my major flaw was, due to the fact that Frost Storm is actually slower than Rolan's Stone Cube, I found that I was left wide open for attack. Chimera, being swift with her Howling Demon arm, got the better of me that way. Thus, by using Guardess, I can hold off some attacks. Enduring Beans was created because, well, in my own age, I'm slow and I get tired, so I use them to turn faster. These beans enhance one's stanima and speed, making them perfect for me. Of course, you could use them if you managed to take them from me before I could eat them, and thus, you would turn stronger."

Gaira's lecture attack actually managed to keep Galian frozen in place and listening intently.

"Sometimes, I amaze myself." The old man chuckled.

Galian shook his head: "Nice one, old man, but you're not going to get it easy from me! Electric feather!"

Gaira saw the feathers coming at him, and realized that Frost Storm might not be a good idea after all.

The old man tried darting back and forth, the Endurance Beans helping him stay alert and active, but the feathers just followed his every move.

When the feathers began to spark, Gaira had an idea. As their bolts headed for him, Gaira yelled: "Dimension Arm: Dark Reflector!"

The bolts headed straight for their feathers, and fried them.

Nanashi stopped his fight with Alan for a second: "Gaira! You stole Peta's Arm?!" (3.)

Gaira sighed, blocking another of Galian's Hiraiken attacks with Guardess. "Peta had fallen, and thus, his arm was no longer his property. I have salvaged it."

"Oh..." Nanashi spoke. Without Nanashi noticing, Gaira was actually helping buy Alan time to get up and ready himself. Nanashi turned towards Alan. "Oh, crap..." Galian and Gaira stopped their fight for a second to watch Alan pummel Nanashi with Air Hammer. Once Nanashi was soundly beaten, Alan had the left hand of Saint Anger lift Nanashi with two fingers into the air. The left hand then threw Nanashi at the right hand, who curled into a fist and punched the poor fellow. The left hand curled into a fist, and when Nanashi arrived at the left hand, it also punched him. Nanashi was punched continuously between the two hands for two minutes, before finally being allowed to fall and hit the ground. (4.)

"I win." Alan smirked.

"Now I'd better take you out!" Galian threatened Gaira.

Gaira laughed: "Youngsters like you never learn, do they?"

Galian raised the Hiraiken, and Gaira readied an arm: "Weapon Arm, Thunder Mace!"

A large metal pole with a giant spiked sphere at the end appeared in Gaira's hands. Obviously, the spiked sphere was facing Galian, or the weapon would be suicidal. The sphere began to cackle with sparks of electricity, allowing it to utlize lightning to pummel Gaira's foes.

"You should know that my sword can absorb whatever electricity your mace will throw at me, right?" Galian taunted.

"Well, I'm curious today." Gaira smirked back. The Thunder Mace quickly fired a bolt at Galian. As can be expected, Galian absorbed the attack with Hiraiken and fired it back. Gaira used Dark Reflector and sent the bolt flying, only to be absorbed and shot back at Gaira. The bolt continued to fly between both combatants, getting bigger and bigger because of Hiraken's ability to enhance the potence of the lightning it absorbs. Finally, Dark Reflector sent a gigantic bolt back at Galian. The bolt was so powerful that it went through Hiraiken itself and fried Galian.

"Even the best of weapons has limits." Gaira nodded sagely.

"Shut up!" Galian yelled. He readied his guardian: "Guardian Arm, Torpedine!"

A huge electric ray appeared in the clouds. It sent giant bolts flying down at the old man. Gaira realized that Dark Reflector was not going to hold for long, so he readied his own arm: "Guardian Arm, Charybdis!"

A huge waterspout appeared on the field. (5.) This waterspout had the same intensity as a T7 Tornado, and, thus, this made it powerful enough to easily send a car flying. (6.) The waterspout quickly sucked Torpedine into it, taking out Galian's guardian.

Galian attempted to protect himself, but Charybdis soon sucked Galian into its center opening. Nanashi saw that his friend would probably not make it, and panicked: "Don't kill him! Don't do it, man!" (7.)

Gaira thought for a moment while Galian was swirling along in the vortex, looking like he was in major pain, and commanded: "Charybdis, spit him out!"

The guardian obeyed its master, and spit Galian a mile into the air. The warrior slammed into the ground, and Gaira was the victor.

"The heroes of Luberia have been beaten. What do you have to say for yourself?" Magical Roe snickered and asked the fallen Galian and Nanashi.

"What are ya talking about?" Nanashi groaned, still reeling from his wounds.

"What are you accusing us of?" Galian panted, slowly getting up.

"You are charged with burglary, thievery, causing discord, arson, destruction of property, defacing public and civilian property, and, furthermore, resisting arrest!" Magical Roe informed them.

"Uh, Galian?" Nanashi turned to his comrade.

Galian rolled his eyes, even though no one could see them: "We'll pay for any reparations."

"By orders of her majesty Queen Snow of Lestava, we must stay here and monitor you for the next few months. You will also have several of our unmanned spy Arms monitoring you for years after that, to make sure that you won't continue such destructive activities." Alviss snarled.

"Aww... Man..." Nanashi sighed.

"It's better than going to jail." Galian muttered.

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1. Note, this is rated T. I figured I might as well censor some of Alan's language. He cusses a lot though.

2. Note, Seracs are basically giant Ice spikes, and there will be a character fighting here that didn't show his skills in the Second War Game. I had to invent most of his arms, well, except one, which will be reintroduced to you soon. I hope that no one has any objections to this particular character fighting Galian.

3. As far as I remember, Dark Reflector was not destroyed during the fight with Nanashi, so I found it appropriate for Gaira to take possession of it.

4. Sorry, Nanashi fans. I just thought that Saint Anger would be funny if it was used that way. (Or demented, take your pick.) Since Nanashi was Alan's opponent, well, Nanashi then became the guinea pig for this new attack method.

5. I know that, in Greek Mythology, Charybdis is a giant whirlpool (aka, it's on the water's surface), but I thought it would be much cooler to have it as a waterspout. If anyone is a mythology nazi (and believe me, I know people who are), please let me know and I'll simply nod and ignore you. :) But, I hope you've enjoyed my little tribute to that deadly sea monster.

6. I thought that making Charybdis the maximum possible power for a tornado (T10 or higher), or even making it as powerful as a devastating one (T8 or T9) would be way too damaging for Mar Heaven. Gaira wants to kill his opponent, but by no means does he want to kill everything else that gets in Charybdis's way. Of course, like other Guardians, Charybdis can be more powerful, but I believe that letting it be more dormant would be better for Mar Heaven as a whole.

7. Contrary to him getting beat up by Alan, I actually like Nanashi a lot as a character. He's like an honorable surfer. He's not really serious, and he's immature, but he's so adorable and awesome that way! I could really picture him in our world saying: "Dude, let's rock out!"


	3. A Call to Arms

Chapter 3: A Call to Arms

A week after the Cross Guard defeated Luberia, Alviss informed Alan and Gaira that he was going to patrol the rest of Mar Heaven, just to make sure that everything was alright. Magical Roe had returned to Lestava to deliver the report of the Cross Guard's victory, and so these two veterans were there to watch over Nanashi and Galian. Since they beat their two counterparts, Alan and Gaira seemed to be covered, and Alviss left their sides, alone.

At the same time, Dorothy left Caldia for another excursion. It was rather boring, being stuck on that island without any outsiders allowed. Of course, this meant that she could not have the chance to see any of her old comrades. Caldian law was final, even if her preferred guests were the heroes who saved Mar Heaven in the past, they were considered threats that could not be exposed to Caldia any more than they already were.

By killing Diana, Dorothy had regained her family's honor, yet she felt too disgusted with what she had done. She had to have the chance to leave. When the elder wasn't watching her like he usually was, she grabbed her chance. Hitching a ride on the Broom of Zephyrus, Dorothy was able to leave Caldia and go on a new trip through Mar Heaven.

She decided, out of curiosity, to head for Castle Reginleif. After all, the Castle was where she watched her comrades have their first battles. Her mind drifted to the fight between Garon and Ginta. Ginta had taken several blows from Garon's fists enhanced by Nature Arms, but the boy had snatched victory by using the mighty Gargoyle. Dorothy sighed as she thought of Ginta. Ginta had left them forever, and she'd probably never see him again. As she continued to cruise along, she sensed a massive amount of magical energy heading for her. Before she could react to it, however, a fireball shot her down.

Halloween laughed as he saw Antares hit Dorothy. "Candice, we have an intruder!" He shouted.

The younger Knight immediately ran out of Reginleif's gate. The two girls soon stood face to face. "That was a coward's move, Halloween!" Dorothy yelled at her observing foe.

"Hah, I'm sure you want revenge, but Candice is here for a reason. You can take out your rage on her... But I'm sure you'll find her a deadly opponent." Halloween laughed.

Candice glared at Dorothy: "You have no idea what you did to us the moment you killed Diana! We Chess lost everything, and only under Halloween's leadership have we been able to regain this castle! You won't be leaving here alive, witch!"

"Let's see if you've really turned stronger, Candice!" Dorothy cocked her head and readied her broom.

Candice smiled: "I'll go first. Nature Arm: Boulder Claw!"

The Knight proceeded by charging forward, claws outstretched and ready to kill.

"Broom of Zephryus!" Dorothy swung her broom a little, unleasing a small tornado that headed for Candice. Candice skidded to a halt, and before the tornado got to her, she answered with Boulder Fang. Stalagmites shot out of the ground and disrupted the tornado, causing it to dissipate.

"Huh, so you've studied some of my tactics, huh? Guardian Arm: Flying Leo!"

"Weapon arm: Boulder Axe!"

Flying Leo closed in on Candice, but with a single swing of her axe, Candice knocked it unconscious, and it was defeated.

"Impressive." Dorothy readied another Arm. Candice prepared herself for what would come next.

"Guardian Arm: Crazy Quilt!"

"You're still holding on to that thing?" Candice laughed. "Grand Boulder!"

A huge boulder tried to crush Crazy Quilt, but Candice had highly underestimated the Arm, and the doll dodged the attack. It flew straight in front of Candice, and began its ultra-loud booms of noise. However, it had no effect on Candice, who used Boulder Claw and tore it nearly to shreds. Crazy Quilt quickly retreated, and Dorothy realized that it was time to get serious.

"Guardian Arm, Birikin!" Dorothy yelled.

The Giant Golem fell from the sky, its foot about to crush Candice, when the Knight merely smiled, and readied her own Arm.

"Nature Arm, Titanic Spire!"

A stalagmite the size of a skyscaper burst from the ground and sliced Birikin in half. The hapless Guardian fell apart in two pieces, thus making it useless. Dorothy could only stare in shock as one of her strongest Guardians fell to the ground with a crash.

"Now do you doubt my strength, Dorothy of Caldea?" Candice chuckled.

Dorothy gripped tighter on the Broom of Zephryus. "I underestimated you. Thank you for correcting me, but by no means will you defeat me!"

Candice panted a little: "I admit that counter for Birikin drained my strength, so... Guardian Arm, Scales of Blessing!"

Dorothy gulped. She knew that the more damage Candice took, the more magical energy she'd gain, yet Dorothy could not afford to surrender and simply let herself become a captive of Halloween, or he'd do who knows what to her. So, hoping that her attacks would knock Candice unconscious, Dorothy gathered all of her energy and blasted Candice with a huge gale from her broom.

Candice's body smashed into the wall of Castle Reginleif, alarming all of the Chess Members in its walls. They quickly appeared from every window and even showed their heads above the battlements of the castle wall itself. Dorothy was surprised to see so many familiar faces, and kept her guard in case Candice was not defeated.

Sure enough, Candice, a masochist by nature, got up, smiled, and stepped towards Dorothy. Dorothy's eyes widened as the Scales of Blessing began to glow. "Thank you." Candice laughed.

Dorothy realized that this was her last chance. "Guardian Arm, Reindog!"

But Candice was also ready: "Guardian Arm, Gorgon!"

Toto charged towards Candice, but its eyes met that of the Gorgon's and Toto turned into stone.

"I win." Candice laughed.

Dorothy had prepared herself for Gorgon, and had looked away from Candice when she summoned Toto. Dorothy quickly used her broom to glide her to the side, thus avoiding the Gorgon's gaze.

"Boulder Fang!" Candice tried to use her stalagmites to stab and kill Dorothy, but the witch dodged them all.

"Thunder Wind!" Dorothy yelled. Her broom began to shine, and several tornadoes convened around Candice, sucking her into their collective vacuum. Candice was thrown into the ground, lifted by the tornadoes, and thrown again into the wall of the castle. This succeeded in knocking her unconscious, thus giving Dorothy a well earned victory.

"How could she have become so powerful?..." Dorothy gasped, barely able to stand.

"Nature Arm: Napalm Death!" Halloween laughed. Dorothy was hit by a blast from this cannon, and collapsed on the ground.

Halloween used a Dimension Arm to teleport himself in front of Dorothy, but before his Flame Arms could apprehend her, the Knight heard a voice:

"Thirteen Totem Pole!"

A giant Totem Pole threw Halloween towards the castle, and Alviss ran towards Dorothy. "We'll make it..." He reassured her. Grabbing one of her arms, he yelled: "Dimension Arm, Andata!" The two disappeared in a flash of blue, and Halloween sighed. He turned around to find that Weasel had helped Candice regain consciousness by using a Holy Arm, and, surprisingly, Halloween smiled: "Great job, Candice. Dorothy will have an interesting tale to tell her comrades, but we'll need to prepare for war!"

-----------

Alviss reappeared at Luberia Fortress with Dorothy in his arms. Nanashi, Alan, and Gaira saw how injured Dorothy was, and rushed towards her.

"I don't have a Holy Arm..." Alviss sighed.

"Neither do I..." Alan had a rare expression of worry on his face.

"Allow me..." Gaira stepped beside her: "Holy Arm, Panacea!"

White streams of energy converged themselves on Dorothy's body, and her wounds began to disappear. She smiled, and gasped: "Alviss, thank you... And thank you, Gaira..."

"It's good to see that you're ok." Nanashi spoke up.

"It's great to see you all, but I didn't intend on reuniting like this... Candice was a powerful opponent, and it was mostly luck that helped me defeat her. Halloween is a dirty coward. He shot me down with Andarta and took me out with Napalm Death. Both of those times were times when I was either not noticing him or too weak to counter his attacks..." Dorothy sighed, slowly getting up.

"I saw how exhausted you were, and how Halloween took you out. The Chess have become so powerful in such a short time. We cannot let them expand any further than Reginleif." Alviss spoke.

Alan cracked his knuckles: "I'll have to kick his ass again." He snarled as he looked in Reginleif's direction.

"If Candice is more powerful, then all of the Chess pieces must be completely unpredicatble. Whatever information we gained from the last War Game is obviously quite obsolete. Everyone, we cannot afford to waste any time. Either we try to counter some of their thrusts, or we train to destroy them once and for all!" Gaira growled.

"We will need assistance, so... Galian, Nanashi, are you willing to assist us in this endeavor?" Alviss turned to the two Luberians.

"Of course we will." Galian nodded.

"Wha-?" Nanashi was shocked by the promptness of his response.

"If the Chess kill everyone, we'll have no one to steal from." Galian spoke. Everyone stared at him in shock, and Galian shook his head: "But with all seriousness, we cannot afford Mar Heaven to be destroyed again. I was a fool to have helped them in the last War Game, and, now that I look back, I can't forgive myself for turning my back on my family and accepting Peta's decision to slaughter them all. I owe this land and all of my fallen comrades this fight, and I will stand by you, Cross Guards, in the complete destruction of the Chess Pieces. This isn't a personal acceptance of my defeat, nor do I truly want to befriend you, rather, this is an offer for a truce, and for a temporary alliance between the Thieves Guild of Luberia and the Cross Guard in a combined effort to completely destroy the Chess Pieces!" Galian raised his fist in the air.

Alan extended his hand: "I accept your offer." Galian slowly extended his own hand, worried that Alan would crush it, but eventually shook hands with the stronger man.

Joy appeared in the faces of all those heroes who gathered that day. They would work together for a common goal, for the good of all of Mar Heaven. None of them could control their excitement, for now they were going to finish what they had started a year ago.

"For Mar Heaven!" They all cheered.


	4. Loosing the Dogs of War

Author's note: I've noticed that people either love Alviss, or they want to strangle him. Having respected characters like the Creature from Frankenstein, Erik from The Phantom of the Opera, and The Invisible Man from H.G. Wells' novel The Invisible Man, and many other similar characters, I cannot merely dismiss Alviss as being an emo. He intrigues me, and, thus, I like him as a character. I like Halloween for similar reasons, but I still think that Halloween is a dirty coward. In sharp contrast, Alviss can actually be quite courageous and honorable, so I like him more as a character.

Chapter 4: Loosing the Dogs of War

"So, now that the Cross Guard know exactly where we are, we cannot afford to let this be our only stronghold. We must expand, and with expansion comes the risk of an attack, but we will probably be fine, as long as we ensure that many of our veterans stay here. I believe that we can easily conquer the other territories on this very continent, and we can move on to strike the northern continent. If we try to move towards the southern continent, we'd be approaching the Cross Guard Headquarters, and their veterans are probably there right now." Halloween announced.

"We'll have to make sure that we know exactly where they are. After all, we must know our enemies in order to claim our victory." Weasel pointed out.

"Of course, of course..." Halloween was quite embarrassed to have overlooked such an obvious precaution. Alibaba, sick of the awkward silence, decided to speak: "What is the point of merely standing here blabbering nonsense when we can actually do something, like conquer this entire Continent? If we sit here mumbling, the enemy will become stronger, or, at least, more areas will be alerted to our whereabouts. We can't afford to waste any time, so let's cut the chat and hurry. Halloween, shall I attack Acalupa port while you continue arguing with these idiots?!"

"Simply because Phantom saved your neck does not mean that you can treat us with such audacity! Apologize, now!" Candice growled, readying her boulder axe. (1.)

Alibaba sighed: "Fine, apologies, now can we get on with our mission, or should we continue to be so idiotic?"

"Fine, go!" Halloween ordered the arrogant Bishop to leave immediately.

"Yes, my lord." Alibaba bowed and walked away, snickering to himself.

Acalupa port was guarded by 50 Cross Guards. Alan and Gaira agreed that it would be a good idea to evacuate the port rather than reinforce it, due to the fact that the Chess Pieces would try to conquer it, and stopping them would only waste valuable resources. Thus, Alibaba would not have to face the original 200 Cross Guards that were protecting the port.

The Cross Guards were situated in two camps, one with 30 troops and another with the remaining twenty. The latter camp was located in the northern section of the port, while the other was located just within its eastern border.

Alibaba attacked the smaller camp the moment he entered the city.

"Ring Dagger!" The Bishop yelled, pointing both outstretched hands at the northern camp. Each finger had one Ring Dagger Arm, so ten daggers flew into the camp tents. Each dagger hit its mark, and half of the troops in the camp were dead before their comrades could retaliate. Alibaba smiled at the ten Cross Guards who were positioned before him. "Do you realize that you are doomed?" He taunted.

"Someone get to the other camp and tell them to come here. This guy's definitely not a pushover!" One of the guards yelled. A Cross Guard in the back of the formation turned tail and ran, leaving his nine colleagues to deal with Alibaba.

"We may not be the strongest of Cross Guards, but we're not going to let a Chess like you take this city!" A guard at the front of the formation yelled.

Alibaba scoffed: "You think you can stop me? None of you have even a Pawn's power. Look at those swords of yours, they aren't even Arms! True, they might be able to kill me, but I don't think that they'll be likely to, with that measly strength and skill of yours!"

All nine Cross Guards drew their swords. "Admittedly, we might be the lowest of Cross Guards, but together, we'll take you down!" They snarled.

Alibaba readied his own Arm: "Nature Arm, Flame Scimitar!" (2.)

A burning Scimitar appeared in Alibaba's hand. The blade was on fire, and its flames cackled eagerly on the blade. One strike with this blade would not only slash the opponent, it would also cause severe burns.

Alibaba smirked, and as two Cross warriors charged towards him, he flicked the blade towards them, and a plume of flames incinerated the pair. The surviving seven warriors realized that they had no hope. Two of them tried to flee, but were also burned to death by another flare.

"Now, will the five of you surrender and join the Chess, or will I have to kill all of you?" Alibaba chuckled.

"I... I surren.." Before one of the Cross could finish his sentence, he was cut down by another member. "We stand and fight together!" He shouted. Turning towards Alibaba, he charged at the Bishop.

Alibaba flicked his sword, nearly burning the enemy warrior. But this Cross warrior wasn't going to go down easily. He swiftly swished his sword, and its friction in the air created a small stream of wind that helped separate the flare. Leaping forward, he swung his sword down at the opponent, only to have it clash with Alibaba's blade, melt from the flame's heat, and break.

The Cross warrior screamed as the blade ripped him apart and burned what was left of his body.

"Now will you surrender?" Alibaba smirked. The three Cross warriors bowed before him, surrendering their honor for their survival.

Alibaba and the three newly recruited Pawns attacked the Cross Guard position of 31 troops. Though this camp was fully ready for them, they did not know of Alibaba's Flame Scimitar. With only three flicks, two thirds of the camp burst into flame, killing nineteen of the Cross Guard troops.

The twelve survivors realized that they were in deep trouble. Two of them were accomplished archers, and, hiding behind the charred remains of their camp, they quickly fired arrows and thus killed off two of the newly recruited Pawns. They were rewarded with a flash of flame that fried them both.

"There are ten of you, and two of us. Are you willing to fight?" Alibaba laughed.

The Cross troops, scared beyond recognition, were uncertain what to do. Suddenly, they turned on each other, and six of them were killed by four of their own comrades. Alibaba found it hilarious that these four spineless troops, realizing that they were facing an unbeatable foe, decided to turn on their own allies and slay them. However, he also thought that people with such questionable morals would be the perfect type to send on missions to slaughter innocent civilians. Thus, he accepted all four of them as Pawns. They returned to the first camp to find a small Dimension Arm that allowed to contact people over long distances, and Alibaba used the Arm to contact Halloween.

"Sir, I have taken Acalupa. I've also recruited five new Pawns."

"Excellent work, Alibaba. You ought to be promoted for that. Candice and Rolan have reported victories on the other positions on this continent. By the time we send reinforcements to you, the Continent will be ours."

"Glad to hear that we're finally getting on track."

"Right, this is a joyous day for the Chess. Good work."

Alibaba smiled at the thought that he might have a chance to regain his honor... After all, if these were the men Alan hired to protect the Port, then Alan has clearly lost his senses, and he'd be much easier prey!

Fuugi and 301 Chess troops arrived from Reginleif. One of these Chess soldiers was Ryan, a former Pawn during the Second War Game. He watched the battle between Phantom and Ginta, and, appalled with Ginta's victory, he swore that he'd train himself to become worthy of helping Phantom acheive his goal. Now, he was a Rook, and he even had Candice and Weasel personally vouching for his promotion to Bishop. He was no ordinary measly Rook.

Fuugi was still a Rook. He was stronger, but not by much. However, that is only in terms of comparing his improvement level with his other comrade's gains in their strength. Fuugi had actually become quite a threat. Went he was sent as a Lieutenant of Rolan's in the assault on Casra, the town to the east of Reginleif, he successfully took out thirty Cross Guards on his own, without any assistance from his comrades. That feat was quite impressive, considering that, in the last War Game, he was taken down by the young Princess Snow.

Halloween personally asked Alibaba to return to headquarters, for he needed the Bishop for a new mission. Weasel, Candice, Girom, and Pinnochio were debating on the plan. When Alibaba had a chance to view the document, even he was quite impressed.

They were going to raid Caldea once more, in the same method that Phantom did only a year ago. With Caldea under heavier guard, they would have to strike swiftly and with great might. Only the best of the Chess could possibly pull it off, and Pinnochio, hearing of Alibaba's victory, entertained the idea that Alibaba could be among this honored party.

Alibaba felt honored to be praised by his superior, even if the superior in question was a wicked wooden doll. Turning towards Weasel and the other Knights, he asked for the permission to be granted this honor.

Halloween thought out loud for a moment: "Hmn, it's also important that we have some powerful people back here in case the Cross Guard try anything. We will also need strong members to lay siege to Lestava in order to distract the Cross Guard. Our scouts have reported to us that the Cross Guard veterans from the last war are moving from Luberia Fortress to the western portion of the Hild Continent. I sent Ekiar, one of my Rooks, along with 20 of our Pawns to convince Pano's family to rejoin us. After all, if Pano's father and brother return to our sides, Pano herself will be caught between two sides. We'll easily twist Jack using her family as bait, and if things go in our favor, Jack's family will be torn apart! But, I hope that Ekiar will be fine... If Alan gets to him, well, then we've lost all of the troops we sent."

"Sir, we are receiving a response from one of our Dimension Arms." Mr. Hook announced.

"Give it to me!"

Mr. Hook handed the Chess leader a glowing Dimension Arm. A voice began to emit from it, and the Chess warriors listened intently.

"This is Ekiar. Leno has rejoined us. Garon, however, was stubborn, and we dealt with him accordingly."

"We need to know the details."

"Very well. We assaulted the Rodkin residence three hours ago. Leno was at home, but apparently, Garon was out buying groceries from a nearby market. Leno tried using his Flame Ball arm, and the burns did sting, but I was able to take him down with my Arms. At that moment, his father appeared, and Leno refused to surrender to us, so we had to take him as a hostage to convince Garon to surrender. However, Garon tried to smash my face in instead, and he dealt some harsh blows on me, so I had my subordinates mob him. Garon crushed the skulls of nine of his attackers before finally getting stabbed several times in the torso and legs. I finished him off with a torturous Darkness Arm. Once that old man died, Leno realized that he had no hope, and quickly surrendered. We left because I sensed that major magical power was approaching us. My troops tell me that they saw Jack and Pano enter the Rodkin residence as we were retreating... I hope that Jack won't be too major a threat, sir." Ekiar spoke.

"So you killed Pano's father and recruited her brother. Not too bad. We'll need to train Leno though, for I'm certain that he won't object to us having him kill Alviss to avenge his honor. I'm worried that Jack will want revenge, and he'll certainly regroup with the other Cross Guards once they've reached him... No matter, good work, Ekiar."

"Thank you, sir." The Dimension Arm stopped glowing, and Halloween turned to the other Knights. "Rolan, you will stay here with the majority of our troops. Weasel will lead the attack on Lestava, and I will let you choose your Lieutenants, elder, as long as they aren't part of my unit. Candice, Alibaba, Emokis, and 360 of our warriors will join me in the attack on Caldea!" Halloween spoke.

----------------

Jack slammed the Battle Scoop in the ground. Pano collapsed beside him, her face filled with tears. Garon's body lay mutilated on the ground, and Leno was nowhere to be found. There was clearly a battle here, for Jack could see the burn marks of Leno's Flame Ball, and several Chess corpses on the ground. "I... I thought I helped Ginta destroy the Chess... But they've returned!... I'm so sorry, Pano..."

"Jack, we have to do something..."

"Right... But... But where's Alan?... Or Nanashi?... Or Dorothy?... Ginta's gone, and I have no idea where they are..."

--------------

Dorothy knocked on Jack's door, and was starting to get annoyed. "Where is that monkey?" She snarled. Alan crossed his arms and shared a slight chuckle with Nanashi and Alviss. Their old friend had hardly changed over the last year!

"No one seems to be at home..." Dorothy turned to her comrades.

"Weapon Arm, Griffin Lance!" Nanashi yelled.

Galian turned to his friend: "What the heck are you thinking?!"

"Uh, I could break the lock with this..." Nanashi glanced at his lance.

"Is that truly necessary?" Galian, Gaira, and Alan exchanged glances.

Dorothy sighed: "We have no idea where they are, so go ahe..."

"No need to tell me." Nanashi cut her off and charged at the door. At that moment, it opened.

"What?!" Nanashi stopped in his tracks.

Jack's mother appeared, and upon seeing Nanashi charge at her, lance outstretched, she screamed and staggered back. Alan grabbed Nanashi by the collar and dragged her away, while Gaira and Dorothy slowly approached her.

"Hello, ma'am. We're members of the Cross Guard. We request an audience with your son." Gaira spoke.

"You... Were Gaira, the man who led my husband into battle... And the one who watched him die!" Jack's mother glared. (3.)

Gaira was taken aback, so Dorothy took over for him: "Ma'am, Jake was an honorable warrior. He fought when Mar Heaven was in a dark hour. Now, history has repeated itself. The Chess Pieces are on the loose and have taken several cities. We of the Cross Guard need to find as many mighty warriors as possible and destroy them once and for all. Your son was a notable fighter who took down his father's murderer, Weasel, and we need him yet again. The world needs your son to stand by us one more time... Your son is a hero, and now is the time when the world needs him most. Are you going to let the world crumble into ruin, or will he be allowed to fight again?"

"You Cross Guards failed to get rid of the Chess, and now you ask my boy to risk his life once again. I lost my husband when he fought beside you... And... And my son was nearly killed scores of times in battle. You ask me as a mother to just stand back and watch my son risk his neck for a failing army?!"

"Yes." Dorothy answered truthfully. Jack's mother recoiled at the word. "Do you know why?" She asked.

"Why must my son walk into the jaws of hell again?!"

"This world was destroyed by the Chess twice. In both engagements, brave men from all over Mar Heaven battled them and gave their lives for the noble goal of saving our world. Think of how many husbands, sons, and fathers perished in such battles. Imagine what will happen if the Chess win this third battle. I was a veteran from the last war. I witnessed an old foe fight your son to a draw. When I fought that villian today, she nearly killed me. Do you understand how much stronger these Chess have become?! We of the Cross Guard have regrouped, and are fighting them now. We need as many heroes we can find to join us in this endeavor.

"Your son is a brave man like his father. Can you imagine the guilt he will feel when he realized that while he was sitting merrily in his home with his mother, thousands of people were being slaughtered by the Chess? Can you imagine the day when the Chess come knocking at your door after they've conquered Mar Heaven?! Do you know what they are even capable of?! Your son is a strong warrior, but he will be no match for their combined might if we are defeated. But if your son lends us his strength, we'll be that much closer to victory. The legendary Champion of the Chess was killed in the last battle, and unlike the last time we took him down, he will never return. All we have to do is be steadfast, and we will emerge victorious. This is a time for action, and your son is a hero that can help save the world in its time of need. Madam, will you let Jack rejoin the fight to free Mar Heaven?"

"Jack... Jack went to visit our in-law's home. You can find him there." Jake's wife bowed her head in sorrow and shame.

"Thank you, ma'am. Jack will come home alive, I assure you." Dorothy nodded. Gaira waved at the pained mother as the Cross Guard marched for the Rodkin residence. She swiftly closed the door on them, and they could only exchange sorrowful glances and sigh.

As they approached the Rodkin household, they found Jack and Pano with bowed heads and tears falling from their eyes. "Jack..." Nanashi spoke.

"Everyone..." Jack's tear-stained face turned to them. "They killed her family! Garon would have been my father-in-law! Leno would have been my brother-in-law! They're dead, killed by the Chess! I'm going with you! I'm going to kill every single one of them! They refuse to stay gone, they refuse to stay beaten, so I'll ram this shovel into the backs of their necks! Let's go... Let's go, now! Where are the other Cross Guards? Come on!" Jack growled.

"And I shall join you as well... I can't believe I once stood by those bastards! Father... Leno... I'll avenge them both... I'm going with you!" Pano gripped tighter on her Ball Hammer Arm.

"You both will need more training, for I can sense that your magical power hasn't improved much. Dorothy almost died fighting Candice today, so you'd better be ready for what you will experience in this journey!" Gaira spoke.

"You've grown stronger, Master Gaira... Train me again, like you did last year, and I will show you how strong I'll become!" Jack pleaded.

"You helped Jack become strong enough to beat Weasel... Please, help me gain the strength to avenge my family!" Pano nodded.

"Everyone, you'd all better enter the Training Gate... We still have some time. Magical Roe and many of our hand-picked new members are at headquarters, and I sense that many of them are strong enough to hold off an attack by several Knights. We'll need to train to become stronger... Dimension Arm, Training Gate!" Gaira yelled.

Seven gates appeared before each of the characters. "Gaira, you can use my Gate later to train. After all, you'll be fighting with the best of us, won't you?" Alan asked.

"Yes, I will be... But for now, you should train. Best of luck, warriors!" Gaira bid them farewell as they entered the Training Gate.

Galian, Nanashi, Dorothy, Alan, Alviss, Jack, and Pano, these seven heroes now represented the new champions of Mar Heaven. The fate of the world rested on their shoulders. Each one of them eagerly entered the gate, ready to make themselves strong enough to save their world.

Gaira, the eighth champion, watched them go. Sighing, he looked towards Reginleif, and sighed: "Now the gavel has been thrown, and will Mar Heaven be able to withstand the blow? The Chess are stronger, and we have not reached their strength as of yet... These tidings seem so uncertain indeed..."

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1. I've heard that Alibaba was saved by Phantom's Dimension Arm in the anime. I planned to use him when I first thought of this story, so he's alive. If anyone wants him to be fried by a volcano, well, sorry, but I have his demise already planned...

2. I'm sure the moment you, reader, read this, you thought that I was being strange, calling Thunder Mace a weapon arm and Flame Scimitar a nature arm. Well, here's this: Thunder Mace is a mace that can create and utilize lightning. That does not neccessarily mean that it will. Gaira can use the mace without using its lightning ability. That is why I classify it as a weapon arm. Flame Scimitar, on the other hand, is a Scimitar that is always on fire. If it looses its flame, then that is a sign that the Arm has become much weaker than it potentially is. Therefore, because of its dependence on fire, Flame Scimitar is a nature arm.

3. Jack's mother is probably out of character, but considering that Jake was slain by the Chess and these Cross Guards failed to get rid of them, I'm sure she's not too thrilled to find Cross recruitment officers at her door.


	5. Halloween's Gamble

So, kiddies, I thought it would be a nice idea to have an update on Halloween... With Halloween having the most lines... E he he he he he! (1.)

Chapter 5: Halloween's Gamble

Gaira stood steadfastly beside the Training Gates for two days. During that time, troublesome things were happening elsewhere in Mar Heaven. The Chess's plan for acquiring new arms had come to fruition... Caldea and Lestava came under seige...

On the first day, Halloween and Weasel were closing in on their respective targets.

"Formations, everyone... I know that aerial travel is tiring, but you must stay on your guard! Because the nation of Caldea is not formed from idiots, I fear that they may have scouts on brooms who can intercept us. You, Candice, fought Dorothy, so you should understand the validity of my fears. Emokis, try not to dip too low below our formation, as it will be hard to rescue you if you are shot down." Halloween spoke.

Emokis could only grumble in annoyance, while Candice had an excited look on her face. After all, if Dorothy was the hero of the Caldeans, it would mean that the average Calden sorcerer or sorceress would not be such a pain to fight. Quite frankly, they might even be entertaining prey!

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As the elite Chess task force headed for Caldea, the large Chess army gathered in their respective positions slightly south of Lestava. The Cross Guard had not set up guardposts at that position, since they did not anticpate that they would need to. After all, this was the headquarters of the Cross Guard! It would be put under 24 hour guard by elite Cross Guard troops. There was no need for a watchtower. In case of an assault, there was Gehileurl castle nearby in case reinforcements were necessary.

Weasel chuckled softly: "The Cross have made a huge miscalculation. They assumed that we could not give them great trouble. They are wrong, and Lestava will be under seige tonight! Imagine the sweet taste of victory, my friends! Queen Snow and her retainer Magical Roe, a traitor of our ranks, will be slain. The Cross Guard will either be badly splintered, or they'll disband overnight. Mar Heaven will be ours!"

Greedy with the prospect of victory, the Chess warriors prepared to assault the castle. The Cross Guard headquarters seemed unprepared for the coming storm.

---------------

At nightfall, Halloween landed on Caldea's western shore. They used Nature Arms to make their assault hidden behind a natural mass of fog. Caldea did get foggy once in a while, so fog was no strange sight to the Caldean troops on watch.

Once they got close to the gate, Halloween ordered his troops to dispell their Nature Arms, and the leader of the Chess quickly took out the guards by using his Napalm Death Arm. They were fried quite thoroughly before they could scream.

Unfortunately, the reason for the Calden guards not to notice the Napalm Death assault was the same reason why Dorothy could not detect Halloween's Antares attack. Halloween was extremely powerful. His strength was much greater than that of many of his opponents. In fact, his strength so extremely outclassed his opponents that even with their experienced sixth sense, they could not detect it. That is very similar to dogs being able to hear noises that the human ear, even if it were more receptive than other ears, could not hear.

So, with the guards taken out, the Chess Piece commanders utlized their strongest Arms, like Wakan Tanka, Dandarshi (2.), Titanic Spire, and the Genie (3.).

Emokis assaulted the gate with Dandarshi, while Wakan Tanka and the Genie tried to assist in damaging the gate. Once the three Arm's collective power caused the gate to crack, Candice pointed Titanic Spire at an angle, and the huge stalacmite helped crack the center of the gate, forcing it to break and let the Chess through.

The battle of Caldea was a gruesome sight. The sorcerers found that their opponents were even more powerful and bloodthirsty. Magic spells proved to have little effect on the higher ranking Chess, even though many pawns and some rooks were killed by the defending Caldean army. Smacking their way through the mass of Caldean troops, Halloween and Alibaba reached the two Arm storage vaults, and stole as many Arms as their army could carry. They fled the city, with several Rooks getting killed and several Arms being retaken by the desperate Caldeans. However, their efforts in saving their Arms were unsuccessful for the Caldeans, and Halloween escaped with over 2,740 Arms.

Halloween ordered Emokis, who actually was having some trouble with the Calden defensive line, to oversee the transport of stolen arms to Reginleif, while he himself would go see how Weasel fared...

-------------

As Halloween was raiding Caldea, Weasel attacked Lestava. The moment Chess troops entered the range of the Cross's headquarters, Magical Roe sent distress calls and warning messages to all Cross Guard bases. Gehileurl agreed to send a thousand Cross Guards to assist the base, for they themselves were worried that a direct attack from Reginleif was being planned for them.

Magical Roe yelled into a Dimension Arm: "Attention, all Cross Guards! Headquarters is under attack! I repeat, Lestava is under attack! This is Magical Roe, and I am making an urgent request for backup! We have engaged the enemy, and they appear to be more powerful than anticipated. Her Majesty Snow currently has three thousand troops, while the enemy is estimated at having over seven thousand soldiers. We require assistance immediately! Repeat, this is not a drill, Lestava is under attack!"

--------------

Gaira's eyes widened at the message. "Lestava is under attack?" He gasped. But he could not move. He was caught here at the Training Gate, and looked uneasily at the seven gates before him. "Everyone, please hurry... The enemy has attacked Lestava, and if we do not move soon, all will be lost!" The old man thought frantically.

-----------

Weasel shook his head at the Cross Guard soldiers rushing to engage him. "We outnumber you by a great margin, and yet you still recklessly charge at us in the open? Do these Cross Guards want to die?" He murmered as he ordered his troops to attack.

Back in the castle, Magical Roe spoke to the Queen. "Your majesty, I have sent a distress call... May fate be with us..." Roe murmured. "Magical Roe, I will use Undine to provide your troops with back-up, but you must guide them to victory. You are the highest ranking officer here, besides me, and you have a debt that you must pay for your earlier service to the Chess. Go now, my dear caretaker, and guide the Cross Guard to victory in my name!" Snow ordered.

"Yes, milady." Roe bowed and entered the battlefield.

"All units, engage!" Weasel yelled.

"Everyone, stay on your guard! We shall give our lives for all of Mar Heaven! No villians can defy the Cross Guard!" Magical Roe shotued.

Blade Ball swirled about, dicing any foolish Chess Piece who dared get in its way, while Yggdrasil stayed put in one place, crushing and slamming Cross Guards who tried to approach it. Magical Roe realized that, though he would be able to take on many of Weasel's subordinate Bishops, he was not nearly as strong as Weasel himself. The battle was intense as the cries of war and the clashing of Arms and weapons filled the air. Cross Guards and Chess Pieces fell in hordes and waves as both sides tried to claim victory. Both commanders found that there were several casualties on both sides.

Just when Magical Roe realized that the Chess were actually gaining the upper hand with an overwhelming majority, a strange sight appeared on the battlefield: a large swirl of water began to weave through the Chess lines, and the Cross Guards could hear a series of screams in their enemy's ranks. Roe sensed a huge surge of magical energy to his right, and when he turned in that direction, he saw a glowing Gaira amidst a small band of warriors. "Alan! Alviss! Gaira!" The Cross Guards yelled with joy.

Alan, Alviss, Nanashi, Galian, Jack, Pano, and Dorothy rushed into the fray. Gaira was helping even the odds with Charybdis, who eagerly consumed all the Chess troops unfortunate enough to be in its way. Weasel could only stare at the sight in shock. Pano and Galian, former Chess Pieces in the previous war, were now making it their duty to kill off as many Chess as they could get their hands on. The old man soon found himself praying for reinforcements.

Belle had been in Lestava as well. She served as Reconnisance for the Cross Guard, since her small size made it hard for the Chess to spot her. As she darted in the Chess lines, taking note of the kinds of Arms they were using, a bullet from Napalm Death struck her. As her body caught on fire, the only word she could make out was "Alviss!" The young lad saw the fairy burn to death, and his eyes soon met that of Halloween's. The leader of the Chess now appeared to save his army from his bitter foes.

Alviss's face contorted with rage as he watched Belle die. Alone, he charged towards Halloween: "High Speed Thirteen Totem Pole!" He bellowed. The totem poles tripped Halloween, but inflicted little damage on the powerful warrior.

"Cross Dagger!" Halloween laughed. Billows of Flames slammed into Alviss, and the youth shrieked from the burns.

"Alviss!" Dorothy yelled aloud, watching her comrade burn before her very eyes.

"Alviss!" Alan and Gaira gasped simultaneously, and Gaira began ordering Charybdis to close in on Halloween.

Jack, Pano, Galian, and Nanashi found themselves in the midst of enemy forces, so none of them had a good opportunity to provide Alviss with their assistance.

Alan ran towards the charred youth, who, miraculously, was still alive. "I refuse to surrender!" Alviss gasped as he dodged further streams of flame from the Chess leader.

"I respect your guts!" Halloween taunted.

"Air Hammer!" Alan growled.

The blows struck Halloween, making it difficult for the Chess leader to concentrate his fire on Alviss. (4.) Seeing the number of casualties on both sides, Halloween realized that it was pointless to waste his troops and time here. "Weasel, we're pulling out!" Halloween announced.

"Yes, sir!" Weasel shouted back. The Chess commanders each used Andarta, taking as many soldiers as they could with them.

Of the 4,000 (5.) troops who fought in Lestava, 1,800 were killed. On the Chess side, about 2,700 perished (6.). The survivors on both sides made it safetly back to their respective bases. Alviss snarled slightly as Gaira healed him and the others clustered around him: "I've been beaten twice... Once by you, Galian, and this time by Halloween. I will not shame Belle's memory with a third defeat!"

------------

1. I spent a good year of my childhood watching Tales from the Crypt with my father. Clearly, that laugh's been stuck in my head... But it's difficult to describe it in words and not with one's voice or sound. Note, don't quote me on the Halloween having the most lines part. I'm not exactly sure if he does.

2. In my personal opinion, Dandarshi is an awesome Arm. Since Emokis's defeat against Snow, the vain Bishop has realized her error in destroying one of her strongest arms, therefore, she has restored Dandarshi, and has it as part of her collection once again.

3. Alibaba's name and choice of Arms derive themselves from Islam. I suspect that he'd want a new Genie, or he'd want his old one to be restored, as Alan cracked it in the last War Game.

4. In my opinion, Alviss tends to be weaker than he thinks he is. He has to take a beating before he realizes that he has to change... That latter trait is, admittedly, kind of like me... Heh...

5. Gehileurl's promised 1,000 soldiers did arrive, but that was around the time when Weasel was crushing the Cross Guards like flies, so their assistance wasn't that dramatic.

6. Thanks to Charybdis, and due to the fact that many of the troops were only Rooks and Pawns.

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	6. Luberia Rises

A few hours ago, I had my Bioethics midterm. Yesterday, I had to do a huge assignment for another class. Because of these two assignments, I could not update as soon as anticipated, but here's your latest update!:

Note: If any of the characters I have mentioned before or the characters that I will mention in this chapter died in the manga/anime, let's just say that I haven't read the manga in a while, and that I've watched only a few episodes of the anime. As for spelling or grammar errors, they occur every once in a while. Please don't get mad at me for them. I'm sure that if you are also writers, you'd understand.

Chapter 6: Luberia Rises (1.)

Alviss was in the infirmary, badly wounded from his duel with Halloween. His comrades were arranged in a circle around him. The Queen of Lestava, Snow, considered Alviss to be one of her crucial officers, so, using Healing Angel, she tried to heal him herself. Gaira, with his Panacea Holy Arm, joined her, along with several of Lestava's physicians.

Dorothy shook her head: "Idiot! What were you thinking?!" Alan and Nanashi nodded, surprised that Alviss would be so reckless.

"Belle... I had to fight for Belle... In those old days, she provided me with support, and stuck around when others would merely despise me. But now, she's passed on... She wouldn't have wanted me to break apart and become weak... No, I must stay strong!" Alviss tightened his fist.

"Even the thickest of trees eventually snap! What the heck are you thinking, idiot?! Your obsession with power makes you no better than Galian!... No offense to you, of course..." Dorothy stopped her tirade to give Galian a glance.

"Just chill out, Alviss. There's no need to be so focused. Dorothy's right, you'll just overwork yourself..." Nanashi added.

"Alviss... Your wounds have been healed, and you should be fine now." Gaira spoke, breaking the conversation.

With that, the party followed Snow into the War Room. There was a huge rectangular table, covered with maps and old pamphlets depicting various strategies used by all factions in battles waged throughout the history of Mar Heaven.

There was a chair slightly elevated over the others for the table, and it was the royal seat. Snow sat on the seat, and motioned for everyone to sit down. When they did, she looked at all of them, pointed to a freshly made map depicting the Battle of Lestava, smacked her fist against the table, and shouted aloud:

"Those cursed Chess!... My father died because of them! He died from a broken heart after seeing the scope of the damage they did to Mar Heaven! We've worked our hardest to repair our world after the last war, and they so suddenly return to take everything away from us! I rebuilt the Cross Guard so that we could restore Mar Heaven to its original beauty, but now it's all broken..." Snow burst into tears.

"It's quite laughable, really..." Galian suddenly spoke.

The founder of the Thieves Guild of Luberia rarely spoke, so everyone was surprised to hear him.

Galian faced Snow, and though his eyes were covered by the lavender bandana he wore, everyone could tell that he was staring intently at her. "You're such a young girl, yet your conviction is stronger than many of your subordinates. You are quite a suitable queen, but is your charisma enough to save Mar Heaven?" He asked.

Snow couldn't really answer him, and neither could anyone else.

"No, even with that spirit, Mar Heaven is still doomed. Why? Because so many of the troops who stand against the Chess have fear in their hearts. They doubt that victory is possible, especially with Halloween being this powerful. Hell, I doubt that even if three or four of us were to make a combined attack on him, we'd be able to win. Halloween is much too powerful. I suspect that, among all of us, only Alan could actually pose him a threat.

"Thus, this also means that, in order to effectively combat the Chess, we'll need to be stronger. Not only that, we'll need more trump cards, more people with enough power to take down enemy warriors like Rolan or Candice. Those who resist the Chess are now divided into two groups: The Cross Guard, and Luberia. Right now, my brothers and sisters are very disillusioned with our casualties from the last war, so we left it to the Cross Guard to fight the Chess. Nanashi and I volunteered to fight alongside you, but our siblings did not join us.

"It seems that you Cross Guard are having trouble engaging the Chess. This last battle was waged at your headquarters! And with this many casualties on your side, what makes you think you can actually take out Halloween and his cronies?! Nanashi, it's time we Luberians actively rejoined the fray against the Chess! You Cross Guards can't do this alone... And as a former top member of the Chess Pieces, I have a feeling that the carnage we saw last night is only a taste of what is yet to come. I'm heading over to Luberia now, in order to get some of my mighty brethern to assist you. Your majesty, only through unity can we repel the Chess Pieces, otherwise, both of our armies will be annihilated. Yes, we are thieves, with morals and codes quite different than your high-strung Cross Guard, but we can be a dependable ally in a time like this. Let's uphold this alliance and end the Chess menace once and for all!"

With that, Galian used Andarta and disappeared. Nanashi turned toward Snow, and snickered a little. "Well, um, looks like I'll have to head off there too... My friends are still a little worried about Galian. They think that he'll turn traitor again when he realizes that he's weaker than the Chess. I'll have to make sure that they'll team up with you guys, since they trust me more than him. See ya later!" Nanashi winked and disappeared as well.

Alan scoffed: "Well... Jack, Pano, Alviss, you three need some more training. Especially you, Pano, because it seemed like you were having trouble holding your ground. Gaira, I think that you'd like some training as well, since you didn't get a chance before the battle. So, hop into the Training Gate, and I'll take care of things on this end."

Gaira turned to Snow: "Your majesty, I believe that we might be able to put some trust into the Luberians now... You know what kind of man Nanashi is, and Galian... Well, I'd like to think that we can trust Galian. No matter what, allowing Luberia to help us would be quite beneficial to us, so it would be best for you to welcome the Luberian troops when they arrive." The Queen nodded as the old man entered a Training Gate along with his three comrades.

------------------

At Luberia Fortress, the silent second in command walked in the door of the Fort, got on a table, standing high above his fellow Luberians, and began to speak:

"My brothers and sisters, not long ago, I turned my backs on you and assisted the very people who slaughtered so many of us a year ago. Since the Second War Game, not a day has passed without me regretting that decision. I know that words are cheap, and that each of you probably finds it difficult to fully trust me, but let me say a few words.

"As we all know, the Chess have resurfaced. They took Reginleif without giving the Cross Guard a chance to alert themselves, and conquered the entire western continent shortly afterwards. Yesterday, they beseiged Lestava itself. Think about it, they attacked the very Headquarters of the Cross Guard! I was there... I saw the might of their leader, Halloween. He nearly killed the veteran from the last war: Alviss.

"As you all know, Alviss and the other former members of Mar represent hope... They represent the persistence of a small band of children and youths who could eventually save our world. Our leader, Nanashi, was a member of Mar, and because of his toils, we've become so much greater than we've ever been. But if Halloween nearly killed Alviss, what does that mean? That means that evil is regaining a foothold in our world. Greed corrupted my heart, and you saw what became of that. Imagine what will happen when the Chess destroy the Cross Guard and force us to face them alone. Imagine how many corrupted souls, who otherwise could help make Mar Heaven glorious, will instead focus their energies in the demon art of killing. We cannot let that happen! We must stand together and fight the Chess! I was a dirty traitor once, and I stood beside them while turning my back on you, but mark my words: if I must die in battle against them to repay my debt, I will do it willingly. What matters now are not the old mistakes of the past, but the security of the future and peace. Neither of those can be acheived if the Chess are allowed to win, so let us join together to fight them, who's with me?!" Galian raised his fist in the air.

"Galian..." Sophie muttered when Luberia's second finished his speech.

There were quite a few women members of the Thieves Guild of Luberia. But only a handful of them actually participated in battles or in raids. Sophie was one of them. She was among the very few members who originally joined Galian when he founded the Guild. She had chocolate-brown hair that touched her shoulders. Like many of the orginal Luberians, her hair was long in order for opponents to be unable to tell the difference between opponents in the dark. Her dress varied from a casual dress during Luberian victory banquets to a theif's robe in combat.

Everyone knew that, since the formation of Luberia, she had an undying respect for Galian, it's founder. He made a place where the scum of the earth, the people despised and abandoned by society, could come and make their peace here. Together, these people could make a life for themselves. Sadly, if it had to be through stealing and robbery, then they'd do it. After all, it's easier to take money than make money.

As a veteran of Luberia, she was quite well respected by her comrades, and Nanashi had often asked her to help him plan more raids, and accompany him on them, which is why she did not have to face the might of Peta when he attacked the Fort. At 23, she was only a year older than Galian, and thus two years older than Nanashi, yet, she was still quite young, as were many of Luberia's warriors.

Brandishing six Ring Dagger Arms, a short sword Nature Arm blessed with the might of the wind, a Vindalva Nature Arm, and her very own bird Guardian, Sophie was actually quite fierce on the battlefield. (2.) During several missions, she'd sweep away dozens of pursuers while the Luberians used Andarta and evacuted themselves and their goods.

Sophie was one of the few people who welcomed Galian back. When everyone else began to forget about the founder of their Guild, Sophie still had faith that he was alive. She was heartbroken to hear from Nanashi that Galian had betrayed them and joined the Chess, but she had faith that he'd learned his lesson and would never turn his back on them again. It seemed that, with such a speech, Galian really did turn over a new leaf.

The rest of the Luberian warriors thrust their fists into the air and cheered for their former boss, and Sophie eagerly joined them. Galian gave a rare smile as he got off the table and stepped out of the Fort in order to give himself the time to think. He found Nanashi leaning on the outer wall of the Fort with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. "You did a great job back there, Galian!" Nanashi smirked.

"You think so?" Galian was a little surprised.

"Well, you didn't need me over there, that's for sure!" Nanashi laughed.

"Heh. Well, we know what the response would be if you were the one who made the speech." Galian snickered.

Nanashi immediately stopped laughing, and stared intently at Galian: "Don't be like that, man." He warned.

"Geez, you're no fun." Galian sighed as he walked back into the Fort to be with the other thieves. After all, words are cheap, and they needed to prepare in order to help the Cross in this noble mission.

------------

Back at Lestava, Alan kept his arms crossed as he waited for Jack, Pano, Alviss, and Gaira to return. "Roe!" He yelled.

"Yes, Master Alan?" The clown asked.

"Get into the Training Gate now! You haven't gotten any training, unlike Alviss. If you fought Halloween, then I'd bet that you would have been killed instead of simply badly burned. Get in the gate!" Alan pointed at the training gate, and Magical Roe was forced to oblige. He'd been in training gates before, so he wasn't really worried that he'd be too badly exhausted from the ordeal. Sighing, he waited as Alan opened a fifth gate for him, and he lept in.

"Doesn't that mean that Magical Roe won't get much time to train?" Dorothy inquired.

"Well, it's not like he'll be a part of our attacks on the Chess. My queen, aren't you going to have Roe by your side most of the time?" Alan asked.

Snow nodded: "I trust him, and he means a lot to me. I don't want him to get hurt."

"Then he won't." Alan nodded. "We won't have him join us. I'll give him half a day's worth of training. He'll only be in there for one month instead of two."

-----------

"So, who's going to Lestava to meet our allies?" Nanashi asked as the Luberians gathered together in their Fort.

"Well, I'm sure that, since Her Majesty won't participate, we'll need more feminine influence to keep you in line." Sophie snickered as she put her fist on the table.

"Is anyone else going to join us?" Galian's eyes scanned the other Luberians.

"Don't look at me." Master Moku raised his hands: "I can't fight even if my life depended on it."

"I'll go!" One of the thieves shouted. He had a large red eyepatch that covered his left eye, and a blonde mohawk that made him look intimidating. With a bluish tatoo on the side of his head that resembled a slash from a cat, few people would wish to bother such a violent looking fellow. (3.)

Galian turned to the other Luberians, who spoke: "You four should go represent us. We'll help by taking out more of those Chess, but you guys are our best fighters, so you should represent the Champions of Mar."

Nanashi smirked: "But we should see if you two are good enough to join us Champs, right Galian?"

"That's right. We can't afford people who aren't strong enough to give us a tough time." Galian nodded.

"You doubt me?" Sophie asked menacingly.

"Well, yeah. Weapon Arm, Griffin Lance!" Nanashi readied his arm.

"Let's take this outside." Galian motioned to the two. The four of them walked to an open field near the Fort, where they continued their "trial." Many of the Luberian theives eagerly watched from a distance.

Nanashi was to test Sophie, while Galian would test the mohawked theif.

"Looks like your sis needs to teach her little brother a lesson. Weapon Arm, Sonic Blade!" Sophie yelled.

Nanashi gripped onto his lance as he charged forward with it. Sophie smirked, and with a flick of the blade, a blast of focused air slashed through Nanashi's left pant leg, creating a huge hole on its side.

"You almost cut my leg!"

"Well, do you doubt your sis, or not?"

"You could never beat me!"

"Fine." Sophie looked angry as she flicked her blade again.

Another slash of wind flew through the air and cut off much of the hair on Nanashi's right side.

"Why are you...?"

"I'm deliberately missing so that you get the message that I could really hurt an opponent in battle if I wanted to. I'd rather not maim you in a training match, Nanashi."

Galian's eyes widened: "Sophie's not kidding, Nanashi. She could easily decapitate a Chess Piece in battle."

"So, am I in, or what?" Sophie crossed her arms.

"You're, uh, in..." Nanashi nodded, realizing that he really was a little dense after all.

"Ok, then. Well, Galian, I'll show you what I've got!" The mohawked theif spoke.

"Bring it on." Galian smirked.

Sophie snickered a little: "I wonder if Charley can really show Galian what he's got. After all, Galian's quite a fighter, isn't he, Nanashi?" (4.)

"He sure is... But I really didn't get a chance to see how Charley's improved. He was around when you and Galian started to run the place, right Sophie?"

"Right... I think that Galian outclasses Charley. But who knows, we might just be giving Galian too much credit..." Sophie muttered to Nanashi and stroked her chin, eagerly awaiting the battle.

"Weapon Arm, Vulcan's Hammer!" (5.)

A large hammer appeared in Charley's hands.

"You're holding a Hammer."

"So?"

"So it doesn't seem right. But that could just be me. Weapon Arm, Electric Feather!"

Charley knew that the Hammer could do nothing against the feathers, but he had an idea:

"Nature Arm, Clay Cloud!" (6.) Charley activated the arm on his wrist, and a cloud of clay shot up from the ground, covering the feathers. Since the clay affected their ability to strike Charley with electricity, the theif took his chance and activated a Weapon Arm: Bee Darts. Like bees, these darts were relatively small, shockingly swift, and painfully poisonous. Throwing five of them at once, Charley was able to catch Galian off guard, and each dart hit Luberia's second square in the chest.

Gailian staggered back from the blow, but by no means was he defeated. "You're good. But, just to assert my authority as second in command, I have to defeat you. Guardian Arm, Torpedine!"

Charley looked up, cursed himself for not having purchased (or stolen) a Guardian, and was promptly fried by Torpedine.

"There." Galian crossed his arms and smirked.

"That... Was mean." Sophie glared at him.

"Alright, fine. Holy Arm, Restore." Galian muttered.

Charley was fully healed.

"Hey, if that's the Holy Arm you used to heal me, why didn't you use it on Alviss?" Nanashi raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't think he'd trust me. After all, Alviss is pretty harsh towards people he doesn't seem to trust."

"He's harsh, yeah, but don't give me that bull. You were just seeing how effective the Cross would be at healing one of their own, weren't you?"

"How'd you guess?" Galian snickered.

"Because I'm smart like that."

"That's the spirit..." Galian smiled again.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"No, I'm honestly praising you for seeing the obvious." Galian walked away proudly.

Nanashi sighed: "I'm always going to be the butt of a joke, right?" He turned to Sophie.

"Yep." She smiled and went to follow Galian too.

"Aww..."

---------------

A few days later, the Cross Guard veterans were standing around in front of Lestava's gate, waiting for their promised Luberian reinforcements. "Were they tricking us?" Alviss turned to Alan, who could only shrug his shoulders: "I have no idea, but we could kick their arses if they were." He replied.

Moments afterward, Magical Roe emerged from Alan's training Gate. "So they haven't come back yet." Roe observed.

"No, they came back. They're just changing behind you in the castle." Alan muttered.

"Are you that frustrated?"

"Who wouldn't be! We have a job to finish and these people take..."

Gaira and Dorothy's eyes widened: "They're back." The old man announced.

Galian, Nanashi, and two other people appeared.

"Hey, guys. Sorry for taking so long."

"Air...!" Before Alan could pummel Nanashi with Air Hammer, Alviss grabbed his arm: "There's no point in beating up an ally, is there?" He asked.

"You're right." Alan sighed.

"So, welcome to the group, you two." Gaira nodded at the two new Luberians.

"You must be Gaira, and Alan, of the Cross Guard. I'm Sophie, one of the founding members of Luberia." Sophie nodded.

"And I'm Charley. That's all you'll need to know." Charley adjusted his eyepatch.

"Ok... Welcome." Alviss smiled, a little intimidated by the theif.

"Huh, so you all became stronger." Galian noted as he observed the magical aura each of the Cross Guard members were showing.

"Well, yeah, with you taking your sweet time, everyone had plenty of time to train." Alan muttered bitterly, refraining himself from snarling.

Snow emerged from the castle, and bowed before Charley and Sophie. "Thank you both for coming." She also gave Pano a bow: "And I didn't have a chance to thank you too, Pano. It brings me joy to find more strong warriors willing to join our banner. In these times, heroes must emerge to guide us to victory. What a relief to see warriors from Luberia come to help us! The Chess are powerful, and the Cross Guard cannot stop them alone. With your aid, victory may very well be in our hands."

----------

"The Western Continent has provided us with a small navy and a stable population to draft from. But, it looks like the Cross Guard will eventually be able to defeat us, since we can't get enough resources from what we have to maintain a strong enough force that will hold off a pronged attack from them. I suggest that we strike first. The Hild Continent has many cities, but few Cross bases. There is the Luberian Fortress, and they are Cross allies, but I believe that we can conquer plenty of land before we actually have to engage them. So let us go, Lord Halloween!" Mr. Hook spoke.

"So, it's about time we continued to expand. We shall attack the Hild Continent at once. Those fools in Vestry have no idea what they're up against. All units, prepare to deploy!"

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1. In the manga, I realize that there are so few characters in Luberia who are given important roles. Considering that Halloween could beat up every single one of our heroes (with the exception of Alan) we'll need to include some more. I suggest that we allow for some Luberians to show their true strengths. Warning: There will be OC's, and I will try to not make them Mary-Sues or Corny.

2. In my personal opinion, Vindalva, with its ability to have many wind based attacks relative to the magical power of its user, is one awesome Nature Arm. I wanted Sophie, a Wind Manipulator of Luberia, to have control of such an Arm.

3. I barely watched the Anime, but I've looked over the Youtube fan-made video regarding Galian and Nanashi's fight, and during a flashback section, this character appeared. I figured that I'd put him in the fic since he looks quite different than the typical fan portrayal of Luberia as the honorable thieves. Beauty's only skin deep, and looks can be deceiving, but just by looking at this guy, I'd rather not mess with him. I don't know if he was killed in the anime, and if he was, well, this is my fanfic, and I will do what I will.

4. Charley, an adorable name for a scary looking guy.

5. Why all the references to Western Mythology? Well, because there's way too little mystical things that I know about. I could put in some Chinese mythological weapons and such, but that'll take weeks of interrogating my relatives and research on my part, and, quite frankly, I'm lazy.

6. Clay is a good insulator. Since two main female heroines are wind manipulators, I believed that we needed an Earth or Stone manipulator on the heroic team. Thus, clay fits with the Earth description, and therefoe Charley got a nature arm that manipulates clay!

7. Bee Darts. Weapon Arm. Yes, they are poisonous, but they are not Nature Arms because they do not necessarily manipulate a part of nature. After all, unforutunately, poison can be manmade. These are basically small poison darts that are magically enhanced to fly faster and, thus, swiftly strike the opponent. It is advised to use it as a shock weapon.


	7. The Stained Keklon Plains

Chapter 7: The Stained Keklon Plains

The port city of Estil lies due west of Vestry. Since it borders the strait that separates Reginleif from the Hild Continent, it was obviously a very crucial location. However, there were few Cross troops in the actual area. Unfortunately, the Cross Guard, too focused with protecting Lestava, overlooked this critical city.

Because of this error in judgment, the Chess found it easy to close in on the city with their navy.

Estil held few Arms, since most of its residents were concerned with making profits and were not particularly eager to help the Cross or Luberia fight the Chess. This foolish act on their part made them practically powerless against a Chess assault. So, in only ten minutes, Emokis simply waddled into the town center, killed the town's mayor, and took control of the entire port, including much of the surrounding countryside around it.

Halloween merrily entered the port, stationing 5,000 soldiers here. He planned to make a strike on Vestry using Andarta, and by taking this port he could ensure that any Chess without the Andarta Dimension Arm could easily come to his aid. Vestry was famous for its agriculture, and what the Chess Pieces needed was food for their troops, so it was almost inevitable that they'd try to take the city.

To test the strength of Vestry and see if they'd really stick to their promise of making it glorious, Halloween decided to enter the city alone, wrapped in a large white cloak, making himself look like some tall, crazy Priest. However, the inhabitants quickly found the orangish color under his hood suspicious, and so they decided to question him. Halloween answered them with a timely Cross Dagger, killing sixteen people instantly with its flames. Immediately, the entire town was alerted to the Chess presence, but the small Luberian hideout in the area was attacked by twelve Chess Bishops. The nine Luberians running the hideout were killed, and were unable to inform Luberia of the assault. Unfortunately, the city quickly fell, as these farmers, though wanting to be just like Jack and Jake, were powerless against the might of the Chess.

A Luberian convoy was moving towards the city, for the Luberians did have some sort of convoy system for transporting some goods, as Andarta does have a limit for then number of people or goods it can transport (since not everyone is as strong as Nanashi, who can transport 60 or so people with his ARM). To make sure that this convoy would not be alerted to what was going on, Alibaba quickly attacked them, and before they could react, each member of the Convoy was burnt to death by his Flame Scimitar. For this quick attack, and for his good service in so many battles, the Bishop Alibaba was Promoted to a Knight by Halloween.

To give themselves a quick and easy gain in territory, 30 Chess Bishops and 70 Rooks attacked the town of Pariche, north of Vestry. This area was due west of Pazurika, the island where Ginta began his adventure only a year ago. There were no Luberians situated in the town, since it was so far north that much of the time its harbor was choked with ice, and thus it was a bad place to make money. With the capture of Pariche, any northern naval fleet trying to head for Reginleif would be countered, and the citizens of Pariche could easily pay back the cost it took to send an army there through taxes and goods.

Castle Pilava, being the only stronghold between Vestry and the Luberian Fortress, is clearly an important strategic point for Luberia to keep track of. It is a Cross facility, and, therefore, about 3000 Cross Guard soldiers were there. The reason why only 3000 troops were at Lestava was due to the fact that the vast majority of the Cross Guard were undergoing training in the peninsula on the southeast corner of the continent. (1.) Of course, after the attack on Lestava, most of the Cross troops returned to base, while the others went to Castle Echelon, southeast of the Luberian Fort.

Chess troops approached the castle, but this time, the Cross were ready for them. They immediately triggered an alarm to all Cross bases throughout the world using their Dimension Arms. Because Luberia was an ally of the Cross, the Luberian Fort went into action, with 3,500 Luberians emerging from their fort and heading off to counter the Chess advance. (2.)

The Cross base at Echelon quickly mobilized, sending 5000 headed straight for Castle Pilava. Unfortunately, both the Cross Guard and the Thieves Guild of Luberia had limited Andartas to give their officers.

Chess troops numbered 6400, with an additional reinforcement of 2500 heading from Estil. Since neither Dorothy nor Nanashi nor Alan had ever been at Castle Pilava, they could only use Andarta to take their small band of heroes and 600 elite Cross troops to Hirak Tower, southeast of Pilava, where 2000 Cross Guards were awaiting orders to advance to the battleground.

---------

The moment Halloween was in view of the Cross troops at Pilava, the Cross commander yelled at the Chess leader: "All of the Cross Guard and our Luberian allies know that you are here!"

"Perfect, now we can have a real battle!" Halloween laughed as he fired a barrage of Napalm Death bullets in midair. After all, Alibaba's Flying Carpet Arm could easily hold the weight of Halloween firing that epic cannon.

400 Cross Guard troops arranged in defensive position on the roof of the castle screamed as they caught on fire. Each bullet from Napalm Death was strong enough to take out relatively large sections of the castle wall, as Pilava was not a very large citadel by any means. The Cross Guard here at the castle were virtually outgunned.

However, unlike their pathetic comrades at Aculpa Port, the Cross Guards fought with honor. 2000 of them rushed upon the advancing Chess, taking them off guard. Several Bishops and Rooks fell to their blades and Arms. These Cross Guards put up quite a fight, and the Chess took 1400 casualties before finally routing their counterparts. Of the 2000 attacking Cross Guard, only 300 survived to flee back into the castle walls. 900 desperate Cross troops tried to survive a seige by 5000 Chess Pieces.

Unfortunately, they failed. With only a single Cross Lieutenant surviving among his fellow officers, and with only 180 soldiers alive, the Cross Guards surrendered to their Chess counterparts.

With the 2500 reinforcements successfully entering the castle, and with 3000 more heading from Estil, the Chess sent 6680 troops to the Keklon Plains, the large land mass which, if traversed in its entirety, would lead straight for the Luberia Fortress.

Alan, our merry band of heroes, and the 2600 Cross Guards headed for the Chess army from the south, while the 3500 Luberians, led by three of their Commanders, headed from the east. Three armies convered into a single plain, and several of Mar Heaven's most powerful heroes and villians led them into the fray. This single battle had the potential to show either the glorious might of the Mar Alliance (the united front of the Cross Guard and the Luberian Thieves Guild), or it would show the overwhelming omnipotence of the Chess Pieces. Victory for either side was critical here, and Alan, Nanashi, and Halloween were prepared to give their lives to see their repspective faction gain its glory...

--------------

Halloween and Alan spotted each other at exactly the same time. Neither side was able to determine who fired the first shot, for it is said that Alan charged Air Hammer and Halloween readied Napalm Death, and the two fired at exactly the same time. The explosion of an Air Hammer blast and a Napalm Death bullet colliding served as the signal for the Cross and the Chess to begin the battle...

Dorothy, Alviss, Jack, and Pano lept to the left, while Galian, Charley, Nanashi, and Sophie lept to the right. Alan rushed forward with the main body of Cross Guards at the Chess line, while Gaira continued to "cast" Frost Storm, sending many seracs at the Chess defensive line.

The 2600 Cross Guard fought an army more than twice its size, but they quickly found that they weren't alone. Twelve minutes after the Cross engaged the Chess, the Luberians appeared from the northeast. Soon, 6680 Chess Pieces found themselves fighting 6100 Cross and Luberian troops. The battle had turned from what seemed to be an egg flying at a rock to two wolves tackling and biting each other. (3.)

Almost all of the Chess's finest warriors were on the field, face to face with the Cross Guard's and Luberia's finest Champions. While the soldiers merely fought each other, with Gaira covering them with Frost Storm (and, obviously, with Charybdis later), these heroes and villians fought in several duels.

To begin, Jack used Earth Wave, trying to take on Weasel, but the old man merely stepped aside, and the clod of dirt calmly flew by. "Stupid boy, did you think that I'd be the same as before? You'll be finished!" Weasel chuckled.

Jack gulped: "I really should have trained harder in Alan's Gate."

Rolan lept into the air, and used his Elle d'Angel Arm to allow him to fly! Aliviss shot a Totem Pole with his Thirteen Totem Pole from under him and used its propulsion and his own strength to leap high enough to face his old rival and engage in aerial combat!

Dorothy sighed, readied the Broom of Zephyrus, and also entered the air, hoping to either save Alviss's neck or attack the Chess from a higher position.

Galian charged forward, and was met by Kouga, who quickly got fried by Galian's Electric Frisbee. Kouga, being the incompetent yet pompous git that he is, was quite an entertaining "punching bag" for Galian, who practiced each of his techniques on the unfortunate Knight.

While Galian was tormenting Kouga, Sophie made short work of the advancing Chess with her Vindalva Nature Arm. Since Vindalva allowed her to wield a variety of wind based attacks, she used it to cast several tornadoes and sonic booms on the field. The sonic booms startled the Chess and made several of them hard of hearing, which proved to be an invaluable asset, as Charley was able to attack from one side and use Bee Darts to bring down many of them while Dorothy used Thunder Wind and took our her own fair share of nearly deaf Chess Pieces.

Nanashi and Pano engaged the Chess from both sides, while Alan, being the tank that he is, strolled forward smashing enemy skulls with Air Hammer. In the air, Alviss and Rolan were practically evenly matched, but the Cross Guard warrior found it difficult to stay in the air, unlike his counterpart. As he fell to the ground, Dorothy quickly flew towards him and got him on her broom.

"Um, thank you... But you don't need to worry about me." Alviss chuckled awkwardly.

Dorothy's eyes narrowed: "If you're going to be like that, fine!" Dorothy quickly flipped her broom upside down, and Alviss dropped down like a rock. The sorceress snickered as she heard his painful thud.

"I deserved that..." Alviss rubbed his sore hip. Looking around, he saw Candice and Pinnochio heading for him.

Alviss's eyes narrowed: "Pinnochio's a cinch to avoid... So my real opponent is Candice!"

Candice skidded to a halt, and used Boulder Fang to try to impale Alviss.

The young warrior responded by leaping to the side, for had he tried to use Thirteen Totem Pole to counter the attack, it would have been in vain. Candice chuckled and called for a Boulder Crush!

Well aware that none of his usual attacks could hold off Boulder Crush, Alviss activated a Dimension Arm: Black Hole! Creating a rip in the fabric of space and time, Alviss created a vacum that would easily absorb anything that would enter its opening. This 'hole' quickly engulfed Candice's Boulder Fangs, and the girl was quite alarmed to see that Boulder Crush was thus negated by Alviss's new Arm.

"Did you think I'd let you impale me, Candice?" Alviss taunted as he readied the Thirteen Totem Rod.

"Pinnochio, now!" Candice yelled. Bullets from Pinnochio's Liar Nose filled the air, and made it impossible for Alviss to get in range without getting himself hit. Alviss quickly switched to the Guardian form of Thirteen Totem Pole, but Candice simply dodged his attacks. "You've grown slow, Alviss. Is that because you haven't a clue that you've been hit by another Arm?" Candice laughed.

"What...?!" Alviss gasped. He felt a dark aura trying to clamp his legs and arms, and realized that there was a Darkness Arm being used on him. "How could I have not detected this?" Alviss thought.

He heard Rolan chuckle: "Sorry, Alviss, but Halloween doesn't want you to give us any more trouble. You're under the influence of the Darkness Arm: Hidden Chain... It is difficult to detect, but as a consequence, maintaining it takes more magical energy than most Arms, that's why it's best for slowing you down rather than parlyzing you completely."

"I might be slower, but you'll all be goners! Guardian Arm: A Bao A Qu!" Alviss shouted.

"Dimension Arm: Warp!" Rolan yelled.

Pinnochio and Candice were trapped in the Sphere, but Rolan's Arm saved him. "I was too slow to use Teleportation... Stupid me..." Candice thought.

"Bur..." Before Alviss could complete the command, a Thirteen Totem Pole appeared from under him and shot him into the sky. "We stole a Mimic Medallion from Caldia, and I kept it. Sorry, Alviss, but I have to obey Lord Halloween. Stone Cube! Splash!" Rolan shouted.

Candice and Pinnochio smiled as Stone Cube clustered around Alviss and exploded, dissipating A Bao A Qu and freeing them both. As Alviss fell, Rolan activated Cockatrice to take out Alviss, but it was suddenly countered by Flying Leo. Dorothy flew from the sky and grabbed Alviss. "Guardian Arm: Brikin!" She yelled. The Golem fell on Rolan and kept him pinned, while Dorothy used Thunder Wind to send Pinnochio flying.

"Why must you ruin everything?!" Candice snarled. "Nature Arm: Clay Pigeons!" (4.)

Several birds appeared in the sky, but they looked like they were made of Clay. Dorothy was a little confused, and, keeping a firm grip on Alviss, she began to do several barrel rolls to avoid them. But the birds were too fast, and soon, they came into formation around the Zephryus Broom. Dorothy screamed as they all exploded at once.

Birkin disappeared, and Rolan got up. "Candice, did you get rid of her?" He asked. "Looks like it..." Candice smiled as the three Knights watched the Zephyrus broom and its two riders plummet to the ground.

-------------

Nanashi heard a thud behind him, and saw Alviss and Dorothy sprawled on the ground. "You two!" He gasped.

"Nanashi, stop staring and get us a medic!" Alviss gasped. As Nanashi ran back towards the Cross lines, more Chess Pieces began to appear. Alviss found himself quite weak, but when he turned to look at Dorothy, it seemed that she was knocked out. "What could have been so exhausting? Ah... Maybe it was because she had to activated Three Arms practically at once in order to save me... Alright, then, I'll protect us both." Alviss readied the Thirteen Totem Pole.

"Two of the Cross Guard's finest warriors finally taken down. Too bad Lady Candice failed to take you out!" An enemy Bishop laughed as he approached them. "Who are you?!" Alviss activated the Thirteen Totem Rod and entered a defensive stance.

"I am Ekiar, the man who killed the traitor Garon and, as a consequence, gave you Pano as an ally. But it seems to me that Pano isn't anywhere near the caliber of you and your allies, so there's really nothing for Lord Halloween to worry about, isn't there? Once I get rid of you two, I'll clear my name of any shames I may have brought upon myself through Pano's recruitment!" (5.)

"Guardian Arm: Thirteen Totem Pole!" Alviss yelled, shifting the rod to the massive totem poles. But as the poles crashed their way to Ekiar's position, the Bishop merely let one shoot up from under him, bringing him into the air. "This makes my job so much easier. Nature Arm: Earth Break!" Ekiar laughed.

The ground under Dorothy began to crack, and Alviss quickly grabbed her and tried to flee. The cracks grew more fierce and thick, and seemed to chase Alviss as he fled the scene.

"For a Bishop, this guy is quite strong... A little too strong..." Alviss muttered. "Nature Arm: Iced Earth!" The Bishop yelled as chunks of Ice flew at Alviss. Protecting Dorothy and fighting a skilled opponent was not an easy task, so Alviss found himself losing energy fast. Ekiar continued to try to pelt the warrior with Iced Earth and its larger variations. "Ginta fought off Girom when he was still a rookie... How can I call myself a Cross Guard if I can't protect people from foes like this? High Speed Thirteen Totem Pole!" Alviss yelled.

Ekiar was thrown off his feet, giving Alviss enough time to use the Arm he was hiding. "Weapon Arm: Ring Dagger!" He shouted.

The dagger flew and met its mark. Ekiar was hit in the armpit, and could no longer activate Iced Earth. "Any Arm can be activated when one has enough energy, even if the person activating it isn't its owner. Nature Arm: Broom of Zephyrus!" Alviss cried. A tornado flew at Ekiar and threw him into the mass of Chess Pieces who were witnessing the duel.

"Al..?" Dorothy moaned as she began to stand. Alviss gripped tighter on both the Broom of Zephryus. "Don't move... You're still weak..." He nodded at her.

Dorothy's eyes narrowed: "If anything, I'm not weak!" She yelled as she yanked the Broom off his hands. She grabbed him and shoved him behind her on the broom, and shouted: "Thunder Wind!"

The trio of Tornadoes sent the Chess Pieces flying, and Ekiar found it impossible to attack the pair. Dorothy quickly flew them back to the main Cross Guard encampment.

They were both quite surprised to find Gaira standing around. "You two... Look terrible... What happened back there."

Dorothy began to change color, and spoke: "Alviss took on Candice, Rolan, and Pinnochio at once, but was having some trouble, so I saved his neck. But, Candice used an Arm that allowed her to send homing explosive clay birds after us, and when they triggered, the two of us were knocked out of the sky. As I was recovering, Alviss protected us from a Bishop named Ekiar and four squads of lower ranking Bishops and Rooks. It looks like this Ekiar was a lot stronger than we expected... His powers match that of Pinnochio's, so Halloween probably has him as a Bishop to motivate him to be stronger... We fought hard back there... Thanks to Alviss, we're still alive..."

Gaira's eyes widened: "Alviss, what were you thinking, taking on the three of them?!"

"It was partly my fault... He made me mad, so I dropped him at a location where Candice and Pinnochio could easily get to him. They engaged him once he hit the ground... If only I..." Dorothy was cut off by an irate old man.

"If only you weren't so selfish a comrade! Alviss could have gotten killed by being attacked by two of them. Granted, Pinnochio wouldn't be able to kill Alviss, but combine Candice and Pinnochio's strengths, and even Alan wouldn't have an easy time! With all three Knights engaging him, it's a blessing that Alviss is alive!" Gaira scolded her.

"Don't... She saved my life after I was hit by Rolan's Stone Cubes... It was a foolish error on her part, but she should not be blamed for..."

"She very well should be, Alviss! You children don't understand! This war is more serious than the past two wars combined! The Chess aren't going to obediently let us kill off their Trump Cards one by one. Now, they're fighting a real war! They're having their finest commanders pick us off one by one, and they've trained their cannon fodder to be strong enough to kill off our newer recruits! Every act each one of us makes should be made with extreme caution. We can't afford a single casualty, or our Army will be much weaker. Mar Heaven's fate lies on the shoulders of each one of us Champions, and by no means can any of us pillars crumble, or this building of a world will collapse!" Gaira yelled.

Alviss and Dorothy looked at each other, and Gaira shook his head. "You two better learn to act as a genuine team fast, or we'll lose you both." The old man added.

Dorothy gripped tighter on her Broom. "I'm sorry, Alviss... I almost got you killed..." She bowed her head in shame.

"But you saved my life, too." He looked into her eyes. "Now let's stop this pointless talk and help our comrades." Alviss smiled.

She turned her head away, a little embarrassed by his sincerity. Gaira smiled: "That's the spirit! Now, let's get those wounds healed. You two wouldn't be much help with those injuries of yours. I'll go in your stead." The old man turned and sprinted towards the front lines.

--------------

With Charybdis sucking up Chess troops, and Alan being held back by the combined efforts of Rolan and Weasel, the Chess and Cross armies dug in for the night. This first day of combat ended in 1760 Chess casualties, 1120 Cross casualties, and 940 Luberian deaths. The Alliance's first battle was not going well at all... When the Champions of both sides gathered in their respective War Tents that day, Halloween proudly congratulated his officers and troops for dealing so much damage, while Alan shook his head and sighed, murmuring that because Ginta and Danna were not here, this battle would probably reveal how weak their forces truly were...

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1. The map is based on the Mar Heaven map provided on Wikipedia.

2. Note, the Cross Guard, with their large draft pool consisting of the entire world, have an army of roughly 26,000 (not including current War casualties). Considering that many Chess lived through the last War Game, and that there have been defections from the Cross as well as forced drafts from the Western Continent, the Chess number around 23,000 (not including current war casualties). Luberia took a lot of damage from the last war, and considering the fact that Peta killed off over 70 percent of their force and the relatively few recruits they've gained over the year thanks to Nanashi's efforts and to displaced and disillusioned people from the last War Game, they total over 10,500 strong, with 8500 at their Fort Headquarters. Thus, sending 3500 directly from their fort is quite a generous offering.

3. Chinese military strategists have a saying: "Do not smash stones with eggs." This basically means that an obviously inferior army should not attack a superior one with brute force. If you charge at a person twice as strong as you, without having planned any strategy or having equipped yourself with anything protective or offensive, you are clearly going to be beaten. It is just like throwing an egg at a rock... With only 2600 troops, how could the Cross Guards expect to win if they blindly rushed at the Chess? That's why the Chess must have thought that the Cross Guards were truly "smashing stones with eggs."

4. I like Pigeons, and I think that the targets that are called clay pigeons are an insult to pigeons everywhere. But, I still thought that such an arm would be funny, so I gave it to Candice, as she needs more offensive Arms, in my opinion.

5. Ekiar was promoted in order to have him become a more useful Piece in battles such as this one.


	8. Redemption

Chapter 8: Redemption

The next day, Luberian troops attacked the Chess position, and the aftermath of such an attack consisted of 1,500 Chess casualties and the loss of 400 Luberians. This, of course, gave Alan the excuse he needed to negotiate a five day ceasefire. Cross reinforcements were heading in from the east, while Chess reinforcements continued to march from the west. Both sides were willing to wait until their respective reinforcements arrived.

From the peak of a mountain in the range southwest of the Luberian fort, the former Knights Ian and Ash watched the Cross and Chess arrangements with mixed emotions. Ian spoke: "I'm sick of war, Ash, and if I wasn't, I'd be joining them... If the Chess beat off the Cross Guard here and attack Luberia, then this entire continent will practically be their's. Once they invade the Southern Continent, Mar Heaven is finished. I... I'm not going to fight. I've seen enough of the battlefield... But you've got little to lose, friend. Besides, you're going to have to fight for the children, won't you?"

Ash turned to Ian: "It looks like I am going to have to fight. You're right, the Cross Guard don't look like they'll be able to hold their ground for long."

Ian smiled: "Take this Arm." Gido's lover handed Ash the Moon Fall weapon Arm. This was one of Ian's strongest Arms, and the very Arm used to kill Chimera. Ash was a little surprised that his friend was handing him such a weapon. "Ash, use that Arm as my representative. I can't lend the Cross Guard my strength... I want to live peacefully with Gido, but I'll give you that Arm to help give those Chess a severe beating... Best of luck, Ash. Good hunting!" Ian turned and walked away.

Ash glided as fast as he could towards the Cross Guard encampment. With his assistance, the Chess would definitely have an unpleasant experience!

-----------

Nanashi decided to do some reconnisance, and after mumbling to Galian that he'd be going out, Nanashi sprinted out of his tent and ran away from the battlefield. The easy-going thief was once again able to turn corners and avoid completing the job.

Galian shook his head: "Sophie, looks like Nanashi isn't going to keep our end of the bargain with the Cross Guard. We're going to have to train our troops alone."

"That idiot! Of all times, he choosing this one to slack off. He doesn't take anything seriously now that you're practically the one in charge." Sophie sighed.

"You say that like its a bad thing..." Galian looked a little hurt, and Sophie was honestly shocked. It seemed that the emotional side of Galian was locked away by that overwhelming greed, but ever since Nanashi bashed some sense into his old savior, Galian seemed to slowly show traces of his old self.

"Of course it isn't... It's a wonderful thing that you've finally returned to us... It's just that we can't afford to have Nanashi not take things seriously. He's still the highest in command, you know." Sophie spoke softly.

Galian nodded: "But people change only when they realize that they have to, not when others try to convince them to. Nanashi's going to be the way he is, and I'm afraid that we can do little about that. Now, let's go train our troops." Luberia's founder smirked and walked towards the Luberian formation.

"Right." Sophie smiled as she ran after him.

-----------

"So, Ash, you want to join the Cross Guard?" Alan crossed his arms in the main Cross tent.

"Yep, as long as you'll accept me."

"But, may I ask, why?"

"The children of Mar Heaven will never be allowed to sleep soundly if Halloween is allowed to continue this mad path of destruction. For the Children of Mar Heaven, I am ready to fight these Chess Pieces to the bitter end. I see that warriors like Galian and Pano are in your ranks. They were both former Chess Pieces. Can't you let more of us join your forces?"

"Do you love Mar Heaven?"

"I love Mar Heaven's children."

"But are you willing to protect Mar Heaven?"

"I am... As long as I protect the children by doing so."

"Air Hammer!" Alan rammed a blast from this legendary Arm into Ash's face.

Gaira and Alviss, who were calmly observing the interview, jumped up and rushed towards him. "What are you doing?" Gaira asked, alarmed.

"Idiot." Alan glared at Ash.

Ash seemed confused.

"No wonder why you fight for the children, because you are a child! Mar Heaven is our home. If it is in ruins, how can that be a safe environment for our children? Children tend to be easily traumatized. Is a land of ruin a happy place for our children to set eyes on? Can they frolick and play in rubble and among corpses? Of course not! How can you fight as a Cross Guard if you are unwilling to protect Mar Heaven itself? Fool! Protecting Mar Heaven means that you will protect its children. Children are the future. Without them, all is lost. Mar Heaven is our home, without it, we are also lost. Come to your senses, Ash. Do you love Mar Heaven!"

A spark flashed in Ash's brain, and he immediately answered: "Yes, I love Mar Heaven!"

"Are you willing to die for it?"

"Yes!"

"Then, defender of Mar's Children, I will accept you as a member of the Cross Guards. Now you're finally where you should be, Ash." Alan gave a rare sincere smile.

With Ash as a member of the Cross Guard, there was little doubt that fate was beginning to turn against the Chess Pieces!

------------

Nanashi wandered about, happy now that he could finally slack off without anyone breathing down his neck. "Without Alan, there's no one that's gonna lecture me. I'm finally free!" He laughed as he walked along.

Northeast of Keklon plains were the vast Enrich woods. These woods actually spread far enough to actually reach parts of the Luberian Fort. The woods were typically peaceful, and the only potential threats that grew in them were large apes that Nanashi could easily defeat even without his Arms. So Nanashi wandered in this forest, wanting to take a breather, when he spotted a young girl tiptoeing among the trees.

Nanashi was interested in the girl the moment he saw her. This wasn't that surprising, as Nanashi was quite the suitor for many girls. Nanashi had a record of having advanced on every single girl he ever met, including Dorothy and the Chess Pieces Loco and Aqua. Nanashi had even went for Sophie, before she threw a goblet at him, of course.

So he found this new girl quite intriguing, so he decided to watch her as she continued to wander about. She finally stopped, extended one of her arms, and leaned on a tree. She heaved a deep sigh, and looked at the sky. Nanashi made a movement, and she suddenly snapped into attention. She looked left and right, and then she began to glare slowly towards the west, as though she feared that something was approaching from there. After a good fifteen minutes, she finally began to calm down, and continued to look longingly at the sky.

Nanashi finally decided to gather his courage and approach her.

The girl spotted him, and gasped: "Nanashi, of Luberia! A strong opponent indeed... Weapon Arm: Diamond Blade!"

Nanashi seemed surprised that she'd activate an Arm the moment she saw him. "So you know who I am. Huh, that's wierd. I don't believe we've met..." Nanashi said as he slowly walked towards her.

"If you're planning to fight me, I will not hesitate! I might not have any allies any longer, but by no means am I a weakling! I didn't leave that horrible place to simply be killed by the likes of you!" The girl shouted.

"Woah, woah... Who said I was ever going to hurt or capture you? I don't even know who you are, and, to tell the truth, I just left the battlefield to go out on a stroll. I didn't expect to find anyone out here." Nanashi raised his hands.

The girl began to lower her blade: "So you're not trying to take revenge on me."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm... Well... I was a Bishop not long ago..."

"A girl like you used to be part of the Chess? I can hardly believe that."

The girl began to burst into tears: "It's true... I... I helped kill so many people... Helped destroy so many towns... But... But that was because I gave up in humanity..."

"What do you mean?" Nanashi asked.

"I used to think that humans were pathetic, that our stupidity simply made it impossible for us to truly learn from our mistakes. But, even so, that didn't mean that we deserved to die. I joined the Chess last year, as a Pawn, and made my way to the rank of Rook. I watched many of the battles of the War Game, including the one you had with Master Peta. By that time, I had already participated in the attacks of Elto Town and Caldea. I felt that, by killing those idiots, I was helping our race become stronger... I saw you kill Peta, and your friends were all victorious in all of their battles, and, deep down inside, I felt a little doubtful about my beliefs.

"But then, then Halloween revived us, and I eagerly joined him. After all, many weak people joined the Cross Guard and made the protectors of Mar Heaven look like idiots. I found them laughable, and thought that, by joining my old comrades, I could fulfill my philosophy and weeding out the imbicles and weaklings of humanity... But the carnage was too terrible. I joined in the second attack on Caldea, and watched as those brave wizards and witches fought to protect their homeland. I was promoted for my help in that battle, but by no means did I feel proud. No, now I began to realize that I was wrong...

"I had no chance to leave the Chess, so when Halloween asked for troops to join in the march on the Northern continent, I volunteered. We attacked Vestry, and more innocent people were butchered by this blade of mine. I couldn't live with myself for standing by these bloodthirsty Chess, so I left again. I fled during the heat of battle and succeeded in deserting. I found these woods and thought that I could hide from the Chess and rethink what I was going to do with my life now that I was no longer a part of them. But now, you've found me." The girl turned away, with the look of shame and embarrassment tainting her face.

"You're too pretty to have that kind of look on your face." Nanashi smiled. The girl stared at him strangely, and he explained: "In both ways."

The girl's eyes widened, and Nanashi continued: "We all make mistakes. Heck, I have a close friend, Galian, who became a Knight in the Chess, and, by doing so, he betrayed the people who he used to call family. But now, he's a proud Luberian who's been fighting the Chess for this whole time. You're a little different from Galian, though. He joined the Chess with the stupid reason of wanting to be stronger. You joined the Chess because you felt that you could do something good in lessening the population of the idiots of this world... Like me!" Nanashi lept up, attempting to help her laugh a little, but he only succeeded in crashing on the ground.

The girl smiled slightly: "You're quite kind... Well, I'd better introduce myself. My name is Julie."

Nanashi got up, and flashed a smile: "So, are you willing to start bashing Chess brains out? My friends are having a brawl with them about twelve miles behind us... Well, you know that. So, shall we go?"

"It's difficult attacking them when I was among them not too long ago... But... I'd better make up for what I did. I'm coming with you, Nanashi."

"And I'm glad that you are! Let's go!" Nanashi smiled brightly. The pair rushed as fast as they could back to the allied lines.

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With two more experienced fighters on their side, the Cross Guard and the Theives Guild of Luberia had a new reason to be a little more hopeful. However, what could these two additional allies really could do compared to their horde of foes? 


	9. Family

Chapter 9: Family

"John, among our fine warriors, you were the only one who was able to give the Chess Bishop Emokis a difficult time. Considering the fact that our champion Dorothy has joined the Cross Guard, and the fact that the Cross Guard and Luberia are the only two factions fighting the Chess Pieces, I ask that you join her and assist the Cross Guard in their endeavor. You are Dorothy's cousin, and therefore should have an easy time convincing the Cross Guard to let you join them. I expect great results from you, Son of Caldea."

Caldea's Elder and John of the Orche clan were standing before each other in the Elder's mystic chamber. The nation was just recovering from the recent Chess assault, and though John's departure would prove a great risk, the fact that the Chess Pieces had already stolen so many arms meant that it was unlikely that they'd strike again. Furthermore, with hightened Caldean security and with the Cross Guard's Lestavan headquarters less than sixty miles away from Caldea's western shore, it was extremely unlikely for the Chess Pieces to strike again.

John held his staff close as he bowed before the Elder: "Diana's crime dirtied the name of both the elite Orche and Estir clans of Caldea. Now that Estir has had its crimes cleared, I still feel that, as Orche's heir, I should show my loyalty to Caldea somehow... I will gladly go on this mission. After all, who knows, Dorothy might actually need her cousin around to watch her back... I've no idea how those outsiders are treating her..."

"Go, son of Caldea. Go and show the world that Caldea will not sit by and watch the Chess conquer us all!" The Elder shouted. With a snap of his fingers, John disappeared.

----------

Dorothy was sitting in her tent, with a lot of things on her mind. Of these things, one of them was Ginta. Another was of Alviss.

Ginta meant a lot to her. He had such passion for a land that really had nothing to do with him. He wasn't born in Mar Heaven, nor did he really know much about it, yet he was so dedicated to protecting this world. Dorothy herself shared little of such a sentiment. She was too busy chasing after Arms and other fabulous things. But Ginta's passion intrigued her, and she began to fall in love with that passion... With that conviction...

But, looking back, she realized that Alviss, too, had such convictions, though he did not have the charisma or the cheerfulness of Ginta. The lad was gloomy and seemed wretched. Alviss put most of his kindness on Belle, and though he was a welcome member of the MAR party, no one really saw him smile much. There was no doubt that he was a fine ally. After all, Nanashi owed Alviss his life, for the younger warrior handed him an Arm that saved his neck in the fight against Peta (1.) Dorothy herself owed much to Alviss too. Had it not been for his arrival, Halloween would have fried her at Reginleif. The Chess would have also claimed their lives three days ago had Alviss not protected them both from their might.

It was obvious that he cared for them, but why was he so cold? He seemed to be a little nicer to everyone, but Dorothy could sense that he was still keeping a distance between himself and the others. It really confused her, for she was sure Alviss knew that he could trust all of them with his life. What was it that made him keep his distance?

It was at that moment that she heard a snap behind her. Grabbing the nearest Arm, her Flying Leo Guardian, Dorothy turned and prepared herself for the worst.

Turns out, it was merely her cousin, John.

"Don't scare me like that!" Dorothy hissed, quickly putting on something over her pajamas, as they weren't exactly something you'd wear to see someone for the first time in a while.

"It's good to see you again." John nodded. Dorothy's eyes narrowed, her cousin was always a little weird.

"I didn't expect that you'd leave Caldea. Heh, did you finally decide to break the rules?"

"It's not that. Dorothy, Caldea was attacked by the Chess a few months ago."

"What?!" Dorothy was shocked. She was quite misinformed.

"Yes, they attacked at about the time of the Battle of Lestava."

"Really?" Dorothy was surprised. For a moment, the scene of Alviss standing before her trying to fend off Halloween flashed in her mind. "Were... Were there many casualties?"

"Not as many as our last battle, no. However, over 2740 Arms were stolen. Our warriors did what they could to resist against the enemy. I myself gave a high-ranking Chess Bishop a painful time. Her name was Emokis, I believe..."

"Emokis, eh?" Dorothy muttered. In the back of her mind, the news seemed a little laughable, her own cousin couldn't even hold his own against enemy Chess Knights, yet she was the one who defeated Candice and who could easily kill Pinnochio even without half of her Guardian Arms. But it didn't surprise her that John was still alive to fight another day. She would expect as much from a member of her family and from one of Caldea's national champions.

"Dorothy... Are these people taking care of you?" John looked intently into her eyes.

Dorothy blushed a little as she thought of Alviss, and Nanashi, and all of the other warriors who fought beside her. "Well, they're always watching my back and making sure that I'm ok, if that's what you're asking."

John looked surprised: "That's a relief! I thought that they'd treat you poorly, with you being a Caldean and all..."

"John, there are few people who are as sinister as some of those Chess elites. Most of the people I know are good people. We even have some former Chess Knights in our ranks, like Galian and Ash. There's nothing to worry about." Dorothy replied.

"You don't know how relieved I am to see that you are well."

"Not surprising, since I haven't seen you in ten months. Besides that attack, how is everyone doing?"

"We're mostly fine. The Elder realizes that because Lestava is so close to our nation, the Chess probably don't want to risk getting spotted by the Cross Guard, so they won't attack us. However, we'll still need to make sure that they won't be able to attack Caldea. The Elder sent me to help the Cross Guard in this and future battles, but I had to make sure that they were treating you well, or they'd have to face my might." John spoke sternly.

Dorothy nodded: "Thanks, John." However, in the back of her mind, she pictured herself complaining to John about how Nanashi wouldn't stop bothering her with his flirtatious tactics, and John getting skewered by the Griffin Lance minutes afterwards. Dorothy actually shuddered a little at the image.

"Are you ok?" John approached her and put his hands on her shoulders.

Dorothy smiled and nodded again: "I'm fine. Let's introduce you to the others." Dorothy led her older cousin out of her tent.

---------

Alviss was sitting along with Nanashi by his side. The two men, who were really just boys, were staring at the vast plain and wondering when dinner would be ready. After all, it had just turned into nightfall. Nanashi was still a little delirious after having chugged some leftover whiskey that Charley just happened to have, so he didn't notice Dorothy's tent flap opening. Alviss looked in that direction, and seemed appalled when Dorothy emerged from it with another man.

The man's skin was rather pale, and he had long golden hair that flowed down from his head. He wore robes that made him look like the wizards, men of Marchen lore who lived in Caldea and learned magic without having to utilize Arms. Such men were mostly 'spellcasters,' they'd memorize specific phrases that would allow them to utilize magic in a varity of ways. They did have Arms once in a while, especially stick or rod Nature Arms that would allow them to use specific elements to help them in combat, but they also knew those incantations that would allow them to manipulate magic much differently than Arms could.

The man's eyes met that of Alviss, and Alviss saw him whisper something to Dorothy. The girl laughed and called his name. Alviss seemed a little surprised to have Dorothy call on him, but he was suspicious of the man, so he warily approached him.

Dorothy was honestly a little annoyed by Alviss's blatant paranoia, but she decided to hide those ill feelings. "Alviss, meet John, my cousin. John, this is Alviss. I owe him my life." Dorothy spoke frankly.

Alviss seemed a little stunned, as did John, and the two men slowly shook hands. John smiled a little: "I hear that you've done much for Mar Heaven over these last few years. The Elder gave you the great Arm A Booa Qu, correct? I sense that the caliber of the magic power emiting from you is more than worthy for such a powerful Arm. I look forward to seeing you engage the enemy in combat."

Alviss gave a light smile: "You are Dorothy's cousin, correct? You seem to be a wizard, and if you can cast spells, I'd be glad to see them. Throughout my life, I've only seen those who utilize magic power through Arms, but if you can do it through spells, that seems quite amazing to me."

"It's nothing, really. Here, let me show you a spell: Eth Lymposa!" (2.) John yelled, flicking his wrist and the staff forward towards a large boulder that was lying around nearby.

A large bluish beam flew from John's staff, and bored a hole clean through the boulder. Now, it was merely a stone donut sitting there.

"Interesting..." Alviss nodded. His gaze shifted to John's staff. "Does that happen to be an Arm?"

"My cousin has her Broom of Zephryus, and this is the Staff of Boreas. It allows me to utilize water and ice techniques just like my Cousin's broom allows her to utilize wind techniques." John explained. (3.)

"Pah, let's stop with the weapon gibberish and have you meet with everyone else, John." Dorothy seemed annoyed. After all, she heard him brag before.

----------

Alan and Gaira were sitting before a large firepit, and both began to think of events long past. They were older than all of the other Cross Guard and Luberian champions, and they saw all of the recent wars that have flared in Mar Heaven's history. "Alan." Gaira mumbled, staring at the fire.

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to retire, but it looks like the situation gets worse and worse as the years go by."

"Well, look at it this way, now you have a chance to go smash someone's brains instead of being a tired old man, Gaira."

"Right." Gaira glanced at Alan uneasily.

The rest of the Cross Guard and Luberian leaders went to join the pair, and they all sat around the fire. The sun was beginning to set, but our heroes didn't notice it. They were merely staring at the fire. They silently watched it cackle and felt its warmth, but Ash felt a little uncomfortable at the fact that they were all silent. "So..." He suddenly spoke, trying to start a conversation.

"Yes?" John glanced at the former Knight.

"Well, I've never really seen a Caldean besides Dorothy leave Caldea to actually hang around with us. What're you after, John?" Nanashi spoke up.

"There's no need to be suspicious. The Elder believes that the Chess cannot be allowed to strike Caldea again, so, knowing that a good offense is a good defense, he sent me to help you in the struggle. Trust me as you've trusted Dorothy. It'll be fine!"

Unfortunately, this only succeeded in making everyone more suspicious and awkward.

Sophie hated it when people were awkward. She dealt with enough of them when the Luberians were glaring at Galian when he just returned from the Second War Game and when they all learned that he was a Chess Knight. She quickly spoke up: "So, everyone, many of us have fought for a while, and, well, it's best for us to have high hopes for victory, so what are you guys thinking of doing once the war is over?"

Gaira decided not to rebutt, after all, everyone was quite focused on winning the war, and one day of relaxation and discussing hopes and dreams wouldn't hurt.

Nanashi glanced from side to side, looking to see if someone would answer her question, but seeing that no one spoke up, he blurted out: "I just want to have a nice stroll on a beach somewhere, you know? And maybe I'll surf a bit out at sea too. I just want to do something other than run around and steal stuff or fight. Life's too short for us to get caught, killed, or bored."

Galian smiled, and spoke: "You know what? Just sitting back on the roof of the Fort, staring at the sunset with a cup of tea in one hand would be nice for me. I just want to be able to relax without worrying 'bout the feds."

"How ironic, both of the Luberian leaders just want peace... Well, I have to say that I basically want the same... All I'd like to do is simply be able to relax in a little cottage where it's hard to find me. Not because I don't want to see any of you again, don't get me wrong... When this is over, I'm sure that we'll be like family, if we aren't already, but I'm sick and tired of fighting. I'm sick and tired of seeing battle formations and having to fight. I just want to be in my home, with the woman I love, and with a happy family that doesn't have to witness any more of these horrors. Everyone once in a while we could probably reunite, but until then I just want to live a peaceful existance in my dream home where no one can bother me." Alviss sighed dreamily.

Julie sighed: "I don't really know what to expect from the future. I was a part of the Chess for all these years, and I've never really known the meaning of not being feared... Everyone would give me cold glances and act like I was some kind of monster. I can't blame them, really, considering that I've done horrible things in my time, but I just want that scorn to stop. I just want people to treat me like one of them..." She sighed and turned her head, staring blankly at the setting sun. Everyone looked at her with a sense of pity on their faces, except for Nanashi, who actually looked worried.

Ash chuckled slightly: "Why the long face? I've been a Chess for a while, but I still try to find ways to make myself happy... Like playing with kids. Children are so wonderful. They don't share the cynicism of Adults, and there's no need for fancy language when you're around them. They understand what happiness is as well as any adult, and what makes it even better is that they have an easier time accepting others and being happy. As adults we turn into cynics and we see the evils of the world, but these children don't see any of that. They just learn and play and have fun, not like adults who have to act like they're having fun just to be 'polite.' When this war is over, I want to spend time with children and have fun playing with them. I don't want to be bound by the stale duties of an adult, where I have to act serious and strict in order to warrant attention. I want to be carefree and jovial, and interacting with children helps keep me that way."

Alan rolled his eyes, and mumbled: "When you get to smash something, you come under the impression that war is fun, and there's no doubt that it's exciting, but then you see the destruction and the suffering that comes with it, and war becomes the greatest fear and source of loathing this world can offer. So when this war is over, I want to keep that excitement, but not see the destruction. Hmn, maybe I should join a boxing team... Yeah... Then I could practice pummeling something, but I won't really be killing anyone or watching people die. Though that can happen in boxing matches, I'll make sure that there are rules set up where people can get hurt, but no one will actually die..."

Gaira glanced at Alan, and thought: "And to think, that man was Danna's best friend..."

Sophie decided to speak up: "I've seen so many people die over the last few years. Maybe I'll join you some day, Nanashi... It's a lot better for us to be having fun instead of being forced to kill people... Of course, we'll have to help keep the Fort set up properly and make sure that we'll have enough money to continue providing everyone a refuge, but I suppose there's nothing wrong sitting around on the fort or hanging out at the beach."

Charley sighed: "And I wanted to have more fun stealing stuff. Oh, well, surfing is cool too."

"Once I kill the bastard who took Pano's family away, I'll just go back to the farm and continue growing delicious veggies. I like growing stuff and watching people enjoy the food I make, and I don't really feel like running around." Jack spoke.

"Right. We have to take care of Jack's mother and the farm. We can't do that if we're out wasting our time doing meaningless activities." Pano nodded.

Dorothy was staring out into the distance, and both Nanashi and Jack were getting annoyed that she wasn't talking. After all, Dorothy would normally be one to speak her mind, so they decided to prod her into participating.

"Huh? Oh, right... Well, I really don't want to go back to Caldea after this... It just feels like a cage back there. You know what? Maybe I'll go traveling, and I'll get to see places that I've never been to in Mar Heaven. After all, after being stuck in once place for practically my whole life, I hardly had the chance of actually traveling the world. Yes, travelling would be a nice thing to do. I can't stand being trapped in one place..." Dorothy sighed, thinking of the fun she would have.

"It's a pity that you were never able to stay put in Caldea, cousin... But, I guess that's how you are. You were always the spirited one. I have few wants in this world. Aiding the Elder in caring for Caldea is all I really want. After all, as the heir of one of Caldea's main clans, it is my duty to watch over the Caldean nation." John spoke with a serious expression on his face.

"Well, Gaira, looks like you're the last person who hasn't said his wish. What do you want to do after the war?" Alviss asked.

"Visit my grandchildren." Gaira spoke matter-of-factly.

"Grandkids?" Dorothy raised an eyebrow.

"I have two grandchildren. My eldest granddaughter should be about thirteen now. My grandson is four years old. You see, I asked my son not to participate in the second War Game. I'm a native of Elto Town, you see, and I told him that he needed to stay behind and help rebuild the city rather than join the Cross Guard and fight. Even if he were to win and participate in the War Game, our hometown would remain a smothering ruin and he'd be forced to fight and put his life on the line. My son is an Architect, you see, not a fighter. His skill is needed to help rebuild the world, not to defend it. Let the strong men fight. The smart men should stay behind to help make the world a better place. Yes, when this is over, I want to play with my grandkids and not have to deal with any more fighting." Gaira sighed contently, his eyes twinkled as he thought of those future playtimes.

----------

The Cross Guard and Luberians weren't the only people sharing a kind moment with each other. The Chess, too, were like family. They too discussed what they wanted to do after the war.

"The Cross Guards are pathetic, and Luberia is no better! Everyone, when we are victorious and Lestava falls before our might, what do you wish to do afterwards?" Halloween asked.

Pinnochio was the first to speak: "Diana promised me that I could become a human once the Second War Game ended in our favor, but we lost, and she died. Maybe, when we do win, I can simply enhance myself with the wood and remains lying around, or I could have fun taking some pathetic humans out with Liar Nose every once in a while. After all, when the war's over, those pathetic humans will be our prey, right? But... But I hope that nothing will happen to the rest of you when we engage our foes..."

"We can only hope for the best for all of us. But, remember, the Tree of Life will make sure that none of us dies in vain. In the meantime, let us make sure that we kill off as many of those humans as we can with what time we have left. I'm 85, and I've been unable to fulfill my purpose in life. I can't wait to reach my dreams, for I only have 15 years left before I become old enough to say that I've lived a century without making something of myself. When the war does end, well, then I guess I can retire and live a life caring for my precious plants." Weasel spoke.

"Since, by killing Alviss, I can avenge Phantom halfway, I want to make sure that that's settled first. What happens later, well, I really don't want to think about living a life where Phantom would mean nothing anymore... I owed him everything, and once his dream is fulfilled, there's really no point for me to continue stealing everyone else's air." Rolan sighed.

"Rolan, stop being so foolish! But, yes, Phantom meant so much to me. To have him gone, well, all Rolan and I can do is avenge him. After that, well, I guess I'll have to live on as a lonely woman. I can't imagine myself being with any of you, and the pathetic humans must all be eradicated, so, yeah, I guess I'll write my own memoir or something." Candice mused aloud.

"If you ask me, there's no point to really thinking about what we'll do after the war, because it'll all be ours! We'll have more than enough time to enjoy all the land that we'll be owning after we slaughter those pigs and burn their filthy villages." Ekiar spoke.

"I hate to think that I'll have to kill my sis, but I guess that it'll be for the best. I just want to have some time to relax after all of this. It's so tiring when we have to train and fight." Leno yawned.

Halloween sighed: "Once I become the strongest warrior in this land... I'd just be wasting my time... I wouldn't have any more prey to hunt, nor will I be able to kill off any more weaklings. You, dear friends, are all I'd really have left. Once the war is over, life will be so boring. The world is too ugly to have us appreciate it asthetically. Oh, well, at least we can stay as the rulers of Mar Heaven, and I guess there's some value to that."

"Is this our opinion of living after the war? That it is boring and pointless? Don't give me such bull. As rulers, we'll have the right to do whatever we want. We'll be able to kill off all of the Cross Guards, and ensure that none of them can ever give us any more trouble. We will be able to do whatever we will, and no one can refuse us. Comrades, if you wonder what it is like to be a god, you'll understand that feeling quickly once we've conquered the world!" Alibaba laughed.

The Chess Pieces and Mar Alliance stood in their respective campfires that day. In two days, the intense fighting would continue, and fate would determine whether the Chess would conquer the Northern Continent, or whether the Cross Guard would be successful in defending it. Everyone looked at the future battle with uncertainty. In their eyes, their respective comrades were like family. They fought so hard together, and though people like Julie, Ash, and Ekiar were relatively new to their forces, these people were still fully willing to stand by them and fight just like any other comrade of theirs. So, these warriors, these comrades, these siblings were fighting for the same dream, to either purify the world or rescue it. Nothing would stand in the way of the inevitable battle, and none of these fighters knew what their fate would be. But, no matter if they were going to live or die, they were willing to fight to acheive that destiny! A calm wind flowed through the campgrounds of both sides, and the little birds that merrily flapped their wings before now stopped chirping and held their breaths for what was yet to come.

--------

1. That Arm is the Holy Arm Aegis, if you need a reminder.

2. Unlike the master of Fantasy, Tolkein, or even Rowling, I will not have any specifc Latin or language-based name for my spells. Their names will be at random, considering that ancient Caldean might not be based on any language that we know of. If I happen to be wrong, well, this is my fanfic, and I will do what I will.

3. I will spell the Broom of Zephyrus in two ways, the format I just used and this format: Broom of Zephryus. I think that the latter format sounds cooler, and I'm pretty sure people can tell what item I'm referring to. As for Staff of Boreas, yes, Golden Sun fans, I just made a cameo. 


	10. Stalemate

Chapter 10: Stalemate

"I see them! Our reinforcements have arrived!" A Cross Lieutenant yelled at the first watch.

"Excellent, let's pummel those bastards and go home." Alan smiled.

------------

"Lord Halloween, allied troops have arrived from Estil."

"Thank you, Commander. Now, it's only a matter of time before I get to fry them all!"

-------

"Tomorrow, the day of judgement shall come." Alviss mumbled as he started toward the enemy encampment.

"Yeah." Dorothy spoke, staring out there with him.

The two were the only ones at watch after Alan roared in each of their tents and forced them up. Dorothy was barely awake, but, for some reason, she didn't feel that tired with him around.

"Will we be ready for it?" He turned to her, with concern in his eyes.

"Al... Don't worry about me. You should watch your own back. I'll be fine. If anything, I'll be watching yours."

"Then I'd better care for you as well in the battlefield. Neither of us can die tomorrow... Or in any battle, for that matter."

"Al..." She was struck speechless. "Don't act like I can't defend myself, jerk!" She snarled at him. She tried her best to make it sound as harsh as possible. After all, she had to test him.

"Oh, I'm sure you can give Pinnochio or Candice a sound beating again... But I'm worried that Halloween will go after you, or they'll team up on you. After all, you're quite strong, and they'd want to get rid of you as soon as possible. Don't underestimate them, Dorothy." Alviss spoke with equal firmness.

Dorothy felt annoyed at his 'knight in shining armor' routine. Yet, somehow, she couldn't really get mad at him for it. It confused her, really. If Nanashi were to tell her that he'd make sure that she wouldn't get hurt, she'd whack him with her broom and say that he was sexist. But Alviss, well, Alviss seemed to be a different story.

The two continued to stare out at the enemy camp. "You know, Al, you've been a great friend and comrade. I'm sure that this fight wouldn't be half as successful if you weren't around." Dorothy spoke after a long pause.

"Same to you. You help inspire many of us to keep fighting. Your passion for taking out those Chess is much greater than many of our comrades... Your strength can hardly be matched by any single opponent either. After all, you're the one who took down Chimera. I'm sure that any one of us now would still be having an extremely tough time against her." Alviss replied with a smile.

"He smiled..." Dorothy was stunned.

"But, anyway, we can't afford any distractions. As Gaira would put it, if we let ourselves lose our concentration, we will lose the battle. Once the sun rises, the call to arms will begin. We shall destroy the enemy, and nothing can stand in our way!" Alviss clenched his fists with rage as he thought of the countless citizens of Mar Heaven who fell before the Chess. Dorothy looked at him with worry: Passion was a good thing, but wield it unwisely and it may lead to your demise. She was afraid that Alviss would get too enraged and not think straight, and, in battle, that could cost him his life.

Standing together under the setting moon, the two warriors of the Cross Guard looked at the near future with both hope and fear. They hoped for victory, and were eager to fight side by side, yet, they were also fearful... They were afraid of death or of defeat, for they could afford neither in these circumstances. Dorothy grabbed Alviss's hand: "Don't be stupid like you usually are, Al... Don't get yourself killed!"

"Same to you." Alviss scoffed as he headed towards the Cross campground. It was someone else's watch duty now.

The Caldean shook her head: "Broke your stupid ego, didn't I?" She sighed and waited for their replacement shift to arrive.

-----------

The day had finally arrived, both armies were arranged in their respective formations, and the animals of the area seemed to hold their breaths in anticipation for the coming storm. Standing at the head of his army, Halloween yelled: "Cowards of Lestava and Luberia, come face us Chess Pieces like real men!"

"Don't let yourself get angry, people! We can't let their taunts affect us!" Alviss shouted at the Cross lines.

"Ekiar, lead our primary strike force at the Luberian formation." Halloween ordered.

A Chess Piece wearing a long black cloak lept from the Chess lines, he was immediately followed by about thirty people.

"That's a Bishop... The earing is golden... Ah, that's not good news." Gaira stroked his chin with his hand.

"What do you mean, Gaira?" Nanashi and Jack were confused.

"Those scum... Back in the First War Game, they'd separate Bishops into three different levels. Gold Bishops were the highest class. Many Gold Bishops had the power of Knights, but were kept as Bishops to either be leaders or to motivate them to be even stronger. Silver Bishops were the typical Chess Lieutenants. They normally were quite strong, but not enough to be like Knights. Bronze Bishops tended to be weaker than the other levels, and were mainly there to maintain order between the high and low ranks. Some of their assignments were based on tenure, or on meritorious service rather than actual strength." Alan explained.

"If that's the case, why should be worried? At worst, Ekiar's as strong as a Knight. So what?" Jack asked.

"So what? Fool, it means that they have enough resources and strength to make such distinctions between their troops. They're planning something, and I bet that Halloween's training Ekiar and whoever else happens to be a Gold Bishop. They've got enough troops to divide and work on them, and that means that we'll be fighting with more enemies than we thought. If we stay naive and stupid, we'll die, get it?" Alviss glared at Jack.

"Seriously, stop being so impatient with that monkey. He is a pain, but he does have his perks every once in a while." Dorothy offered.

"..." Jack was struck speechless.

Galian, Sophie, and Charley were marching with the other Luberians. The moment Ekiar was in range, Charley ran towards him. "You wanna mess with us, punk?! Come take me on!" He challenged.

"You're too weak for me." Ekiar laughed. "Sophie, of Luberia, I challenge you to a duel here and now!"

"Don't ignore me, jack-arse! Come and face me like a real man! What kind of man challenges a girl to battle? If anything, it's the other way around!"

"Fine, if you want to die, go ahead and face me in combat, fool." Ekiar smirked.

The two warriors prepared their duel, while their subordinates watched intently. Both Sophie and Galian were curious as to what a Chess Bishop was capable of.

------

"Weapon Arm: Vulcan's Hammer!" Charley began by activating his giant hammer.

"Weapon Arm: Thirsty Sickle!" Ekiar yelled. A huge Sickle appeared in his hand, it was so large that it looked like a scythe without a handle.

After exchanging a few blows, Ekiar managed to stab Charley in the arm. The thief yelled as he began to feel much weaker.

"Thirsty Sickle drains the blood from opponents, but unlike Peta's Arms, it can't use that blood for anything... This weapon is merely a sickle that deals major damage in the form of sucking your blood dry! You've embraced death by challenging me, so I hope that you realize that you're completely powerless against me!" Ekiar laughed.

"I'm not going to lose this one. Weapon Arm: Bee Darts!"

The swarm of Darts hit Ekiar square in the chest, and Ekiar was forced to let go of his sickle. Charley pulled it out, lept back, and used the Holy Arm Healing Angel on himself.

"A cheap Holy Arm like that won't do much for you..."

"But at least it helps give me some more strength to help pummel you!"

----------

Ekiar's attack on the Luberian lines became the signal for the Cross Guard to retaliate. Alan and Alviss led the assault, with their comrades close behind. The Thirteen Totem Poles proved to be an effective method for either stabbing Chess Pieces or sending them into the sky for Flying Leo to consume.

By separating Thirteen Totem Poles and having them smash themselves into the advancing Chess Formation, Alviss was able to create enough of a comotion for Nanashi's Electric Eye to take effect. Because these Chess Pieces had their metal spears, swords, and armor everywhere, Electric Eye was able to channel through these objects and fry the Chess army. A good twenty percent of the Chess troops were killed off this way.

Dorothy and Rolan faced off in the air, while Nanashi found himself battling Alibaba. Gaira found the opportunity to hold Weasel off, letting Alviss take his place as infantry killer. And, of course, Alan spent his time blasting Halloween with his Air Hammer.

---------

With a flying kick, Ekiar was able to hit Charley square on the chest and knock the Thirsty Sickle from his hand. "You are weak, and you call yourself a warrior? Heh, maybe I won't need to use my Guardian Arm after all. Nature Arm: Thunderclap!" Lightning flew from hands and gathered itself into a ball that hovered over the battlefield. The ball of lightning proceeded to fire small bolts that tried to pound Charley, but the theif used Clay Cloud, and was able to protect himself from the attack.

Charley took out an Arm from his pocket, and gasped: "It's a blessing that I was able to convince my troops to give me this Arm from the convoy. Guardian Arm: Raging Bull!"

A large bull burst out from a bracelet on Charley's left arm and charged at Ekiar. "You fool! Guardian A... Ahh!" Ekiar yelled aloud as he began to feel intense pain. The Bishop collapsed on the ground in a heap. "I... It hurts... I can barely move..."

Charley laughed: "That's the poison from Bee Darts kicking in. Raging Bull, crush him!"

And Ekiar could only watch as the Bull charged towards him, and promptly ran him over... (1.)

---------

Galian drew the Hiraiken: "Hey, Chess lunatics, surrender or you'll regret it!" He threatened.

The Chess replied by mobbing both him and Sophie, and as the Luberians tried to fight off these attackers, Ekiar was dragged back to the Chess base.

With Electric Feather and a series of blasts from the Sonic Blade, the Chess army was finally pushed back. Taking a light breather, Galian and his comrades continued to advance the Luberian lines, hoping that their Cross Guard allies had similar good fortune.

-------

Life wasn't so good for the Chess fighting the Cross on the ground. When Weasel, being pelted by Frost Storms and having Yggdrasil destroyed by Charybdis, was forced to retreat, Charybdis was redirected at the Chess lines. With both Alviss and Gaira making a combined attack on them, the Chess were forced to undergo a mass retreat from that particular front.

Rolan continued to ensure that Chess airspace would not fall to the Cross. Using his Elle d'Angel Arm, he continued to stay in the air, and Dorothy did whatever she could with her wind manipulation tactics to knock him out of the sky.

As the victorious Cross troops watched with anticipation, Dorothy and Rolan exchanged blows. Cockatrice and Flying Leo continued to bite and peck at each other, but Dorothy would order her Guardian to retreat when the demented bird would attempt to petrify it. (2.)

Rolan smiled as he activated Stone Cube. "You and Alviss aren't that different, you know? You're both often too serious for your own good, and your stubborness tends to get you hurt, just like him. Lighten up more and you'll effectiveness in battle will improve." Rolan ordered his Stone Cubes to cluster around Dorothy and explode, just like what he did to Alviss, but Dorothy was well prepared for him.

She quickly darted out of the way, forcing the cubes to cluster and seperate again as they tried to chase her. "That's a lie! You can't try to trick me with fake kindness." She yelled.

"They're made of stone, so if I strike them with enough speed and force, they'll shatter." She thought. "Nature Arm: Broom of Zephryus!" The wind behind the broom began to boom with intense force, and the Stone Cubes began to fall into pieces.

"Good, good, this will be even more fun!" Rolan laughed.

"Bring it on, blondie!" Dorothy snarled. (3.)

Rolan activated Rapier Whip, and tried to snag Dorothy with it, but Dorothy, being one of the fastest Cross Guards around, was easily able to dodge him. Using various sonic booms and blasts of wind, she tried to keep him away from her while slowly increasing her magical energy.

The land based Chess were able to regroup about six miles east of Castle Pilava. Halloween ordered his troops to make a stand. He, Candice, and the other high-ranking knights were also wishing for Rolan's safe retreat.

The Knight sacrificed a few feathers from Elle d'Angel in the form of darts that flew at Dorothy, but the witch laughed and, using the Broom of Zephryus, blew the darts back at Rolan.

Rolan's eyes widened, realizing his blunder, but it was quite late for that. The wind and the darts stabbed into Rolan's body, making him wince and squeal. The combined blasts were also successful in damaging his wings, forcing Rolan to dip lower and lower. "Looks like I have to go... It was fun, Dorothy, but it looks like I won't be able to play any longer." Rolan laughed half-heartedly as he glided away as fast as he could.

Dorothy, knowing that pursuing Rolan would only put herself in danger, decided to land back where her comrades were.

The moment she landed, Jack came running towards her, praising her skill in battle. Nanashi, too, threw a bunch of random compliments at her, earning an annoyed roll of the eyes from her.

Alviss and Gaira had used a lot of their magical energy to force the enemy to retreat, so both of them were actually quite tired. Halloween, realizing that the situation seemed much more dire than he thought, decided to force his troops to train. Weasel would send them all into the training gate for a few days, and, once again, Halloween negotiated another cease fire with Alan.

Only a day had passed, and, yet, there were still quite a few Cross casualties, totaling about 1100. The Luberians lost a quarter of what was left of their forces, which totaled to 540 soldiers. (4.)

As the Cross Guards were healing each other and resting again, Alviss came up with an idea. "Everyone!" He yelled to the others, gathering them around.

"Our attempts to take out the Chess Pieces have been in vain so far, but the fact that they sent so many troops here means that they're trying to expand. If they're expanding, that would also mean that their headquarters is not as heavily guarded.

"Now, this might seem really scary, but listen, we have to find some way to defeat the Chess quickly, right? Well, I have a plan: Reginelif has been implanted into all of our Andartas, as has this place and Lestava. If we utilize all of our Andartas, we can bring up to 2500 soldiers with us, considering the fact that we're much stronger than we were last year. Now, I say that one of us, probably Alan, should use his Andarta to fetch Magical Roe and return here. Afterwards, the Chess will probably want to fight us, so we'll have to beat them off and earn ourselves another ceasefire. Once we succeed in doing that, we'll have to go through the training gate and get ourselves pumped up...

"Once that's settled, we'll activate all of our Andartas and have them take us to the doors of Reginleif's main room, its throne room. That room happens to be quite large, and I'm sure that securing it would be of dire importance. Using the throne room as our base, we can repel the Chess and eventually break through the halls to reach the flagpole and raise our colors. If we succeed, the Chess Pieces will find that their capital is in our hands (or, at least, appears to be) and their morale will plummet. Our troops can thus chase their forces and reclaim large amounts of territory. Worst comes to worst, Andarta doesn't take much magical power, and we can retreat if necessary." Alviss offered.

"You're making a gamble, Alviss... A big one..." Gaira warned.

"I made one before, and won, didn't I?" Alviss smirked.

Gaira instantly shut up. Dorothy, Nanashi, Galian, and Alan exchanged glances, and seeing that no one was in disagreement, Dorothy spoke: "Then let's do this!"

Alan succeeded in fetching Magical Roe, but, to everyone's relief, the Chess did not want to continue the battle. They made the excuse that they were trying to rest, but, in reality, Weasel was having all of the major Chess Pieces enter his Training Gate.

Gaira had the rest of the heroes of Mar Heaven enter his Training Gate as well, claiming that, as an old man, there was little time for him to improve, but the others could easily improve dramatically.

For three days and three nights, the Cross Guards and Chess Pieces had their heroes train in the Training Gates. Eventually, the Chess Pieces officers emerged with more confidence, while the Cross Guards (Mar Alliance, to be more technical) also emerged, but they had determination. Standing together, Alan had 1800 Cross Guards and 200 of the finest Luberian Thieves huddle together, and, activating all of their Andartas at once, our heroes warped to Reginleif!

Their greatest challenge was about to begin!...

----------

1. :) You probably can tell that I have a weird sense of humor.

2. The Cockatrice is a demented freak of nature. Enough said.

3. Even in Mar Heaven, people make fun of blondes. Why do you think that Nanashi gets ridiculed by Belle so much?

4. The Luberians are getting picked off like flies, aren't they? Well, that just goes to show the extent of the damage Peta gave them.

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ATTENTION: Because of the fact that my floormates have practically left me here during Thanksgiving Break, I will have barely any "life." Because of that, I have decided to dedicating myself to finishing up this fic.

Future updates will occur whenever I have seven or more hits, as seven is my favorite number. However, in more extreme cases, I might even update with only five hits.

The number of chapters that will be uploaded will consist of one chapter per major event, as I want to have as much room as possible to describe each main event, in the tradition of the Mar Heaven manga. However, this may also mean that the number of future chapters may exceed the ten chapters that have been posted as of this writing (including the current one that just ended).

You can expect some epic fights to come up soon, in the fine War Game tradition (oops, was that a spoiler?)

Please stay tuned!


	11. We Are As One

(Ok, then, like I said, updates will be coming in like crazy, so here goes:)

Chapter 11: We Are As One

Moments after warping in, Alan and the others found that they were among six Chess Bronze Bishops. These enemies were quickly killed, and Alviss nodded to Nanashi, who stepped aside along with Ash, Magical Roe, Julie, and Sophie.

"Remember, the Chess will start coming in fast. We'll do our best to hold them off, but you'll have to be ready in case they warp right into the throne room." Julie reminded the others.

"Galian, our enemies are quite strong..." Sophie spoke worriedly.

"Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Galian smirked. (1.)

"Don't worry about me, guys. I'm a vet, after all. I should be able to take care of myself. I'll also need to stay behind and watch over these guys too. Galian, give those Chess hell for me!" Nanashi smiled.

Galian nodded, and smiled too.

"If I die today, I would have died fighting for the kids. I have no regrets. Good luck, everyone." Ash spoke.

"Alan, Gaira, Alviss, make the Cross Guard proud. Give our army honor... Succeed where I failed..." Magical Roe sighed and bid his comrades a safe journey.

Alan and the others nodded, and after bashing down the door, our heroes bid their seperate ways. No matter what, even if they were separated in body, they were one. They had one dream, one vision, and all were of one mind. Nothing could ever stop their dreams... Nothing. Alan, Gaira, Alviss, Galian, Charley, Dorothy, John, Jack, and Pano rushed on ahead, while the 2000 soldiers, Nanashi, Sophie, Julie, Ash, and Magical Roe watched their backs.

--------------

Sprinting through the various halls of Castle Reginleif, our heroes finally made it to the throne room, but once they went inside, they immediaely saw nine people warp in among them.

These nine were nine of the Chess Piece's chosen warriors: Halloween, Weasel, Candice, Rolan, Pinnochio, Alibaba, Ekiar, Emokis, and Leno!

"Br... Brother?!" Pano gasped. Leno stepped forward, proudly wearing the earring of a Silver Bishop. "Hey, sis." He grinned.

"You bastard!" Pano raised her Ball Hammer.

"So you never died after all." Alan spoke.

"That's right." Alibaba sneered.

"Miss Dorothy, I'm eagerly awaiting our rematch!" Pinnochio laughed.

"And I'll smash you for good this time, you demented doll!" Dorothy snarled.

"You are all so ugly. I'd love killing each of you." Emokis chortled.

"And I'd love to make you regret what you've done!" Alviss growled.

"For the love of Caldea, I shall destroy you vermin!" John twirled his staff.

"Bah, Caldea, you're all a bunch of weaklings anyway." Ekiar chuckled.

"You're Rolan, aren't you? Let's see how a sissy can fare against someone like me!" Galian snickered.

"You won't be laughing for long!" Rolan smiled.

"Well, er, you guys look pretty tough." Charley mumbled.

"Well, those are quite stupid last words, for someone who's about to die!" Halloween burst out laughing.

Jack and Candice smirked at one another, certain that they'd have their rematch.

Weasel and Gaira exchanged suspicious glances, and both decided that they'd fight each other.

Alibaba decided that he'd fight Charley, since, after all, Halloween needed a rematch with Alan.

---------

"Have all the matches been called? Very well. Everyone, you know what to do." Halloween nodded.

The Chess Pieces raised their left hands in unison, and yelled: "Dimension Arm: Arena!" Alan watched as all of his comrades disappeared.

Halloween, with his hands tied to his cross, did not activate his own Arena Dimension Arm. Alan turned to him: "Does that mean that we fight here?"

"No. Darkness Arm: Sealing Skull!" Halloween laughed.

Alan found himself unable to move. "What? Alviss also uses this... Why... Why didn't I notice this?!" Alan gasped.

"Old friend, I invite you to join me as we watch a series of shows together. I've used the Arm on myself, too." Halloween nodded.

"What... What kind of shows?" Alan spoke in shock.

"The kind where you watch your allies die!" Halloween laughed.

Eight images began to appear in both warrior's minds. They depicted scenes of each of the Eight Mar Alliance Heroes who came with Alan facing their Eight Chess Counterparts. Alan watched as Alviss activated his Thirteen Totem Pole, while Dorothy was dodging a volley of Liar Nose bullets, and while Galian was being attacked by Rolan's Elle d'Angel, at exactly the same time.

"I... I can't do anything... I'm powerless..." Alan was still shocked.

"As am I... Now, we simply watch them die." Halloween burst into laughter.

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1. It might not be as effective as Gone With the Wind, but I so wanted to use that line with Galian. I had no choice...

Note: This chapter was much shorter than usual because it is meant as an introductory chapter for what is yet to come. I hope that I made the matches clear, but, if not, they'll show up in future chapters. Each match has its own name, which is conveniently the same name as the chapter it's in!


	12. Love and Hate

Warning: Due to Pano's extreme feelings, there will be some cursing in this chapter.

Chapter 12: Love and Hate

Pano found herself standing in her old hometown. "What's going on?" She thought as she looked around. She walked forward, finding the same old houses lined up along the street, when suddenly, she heard footsteps to her left. Turning her head, she saw her brother approach her.

"Hey, sis."

"Bastard!"

"That's not very nice, sis..." Leno mumbled.

"Chess Pieces, Silver Bishop, Leno... Versus... Cross Guard, Lieutenant, Pano!" A voice yelled.

"That didn't sound like Pozun..." Pano was confused.

"It was a recording by one of our Pawns."

"You mean...?"

"Yes, our matches were preordained, sis. You can thank Master Weasel for that. He predicted all of this."

"He saw through Alviss's plan?... I don't believe that."

"The Tree of Life sees through everything, sis. It's one powerful source of magical and spiritual energy. People say that it feeds off of the deceased souls of the past, present, and future, and that allows it to reveal to its caretaker what will happen in the future."

"What kind of crap have those Chess freaks inbetted in you, Leno?!"

"It's not crap, sis, it's all real. Why do you think that Lord Halloween and all of my, well, they were yours too, comrades are so powerful? The Tree of Life shared the energy it fed off of the souls of the fallen, making us so much stronger."

"I don't know what this 'Tree of Life' gibberish is all about, and, quite frankly, that's probably Gaira's problem now. All I know is that, in order to avenge father and uphold the honor of our family, I have to kick your arse!" Pano readied Ball Hammer.

"I'm so much stronger, sis, and I can't wait to show you my strength!" Leno laughed as he readied his own Arms.

"Weapon Arm: Ball Hammer!" Pano swung her giant sphere on a stick, and the sphere immediately detached from the stick. After rising into the air for some distance, the sphere flew towards Leno, ready to crush his skull!

"Ball Hammer, separate and strike him!"

"Nature Arm: Flame Ball!"

The sphere split into four metal pieces that headed straight for Leno, while two fireballs flew towards Pano.

Two of Ball Hammer's pieces flew into the fireballs, dissipating them. "Are you underestimating me, brother?" Pano snarled.

"So it looks like you are stronger, sis. In that case... Weapon Arm: Sentient Crescent!"

A large metal boomerang appeared, and idily flew in circles around Leno. The ends were sharp, making it a deadly weapon.

"What... What kind of Arm is that?"

"Lord Halloween knew that you'd be a part of the Cross Guard's main team, so he gave this stolen Calden Arm to me, asking me to use it to take you down. In order to prove to the world that I did what was right and what would make me stronger by joining the Chess Pieces, I will get rid of you!" Leno snarled.

Pano scoffed: "You know, you sounded just like Galian back there. I hope that you come to your senses like he did once I beat you down!"

"Sentient Crescent, you know what to do!"

The boomerang flew at Pano, and nearly shaved off her arm, but Pano activated her own Arm. "Nature Arm: Rabbit's Feet!"

Pano suddenly had the ability to jump quite high, as well as run three times faster than the average person. She quickly dodged the Sentient Crescent, and as the blade tried to follow her, she lept from side to side and activated another Arm: "Weapon Arm: Titan's Knuckle!" Her hand became metal, and with one punch, she knocked Leno back a good eighty meters. (1.)

"You're so weak, Leno! And you think you turned stronger by joining the Chess? All you've learned is how to steal good Arms and how to be a total idiot!"

"What do you mean?"

"An Arm like Sentient Crescent is awesome, no doubt, but you need to have a decent defense in case your enemy outruns the Arm, for you're still vulnerable to attack!"

"Oh, oops... Oh, well. Darkness Arm: Sealing Skull!"

Pano found herself unable to move. "Alviss has this Arm... But Leno doesn't know how to use it properly, unlike Alviss... Holy Arm: Divine Intervention!"

The effect of Sealing Skull was negated, and Pano charged forward and rammed her fist into Leno's face again.

"Why...?"

"Divine Intervention can't heal wounds, but it can get rid of the effects of any Darkness Arm, just like Antidote Tonic can only cure poisons, but can cure all poisons." Pano spoke.

"Sentient Crescent, kill..."

"Dimension Arm: Gravity!" Pano yelled. The four pieces of Ball Hammer were stuck on the ground, and was the Sentient Crescent.

"It's... It's hard to move..."

"Heh, that's why it's called Gravity! Finally, Nature Arm: Crevasse!" Pano yelled.

A large crack appeared under Leno, and the Bishop dropped into it like a rock.

But, before he reached the magma, he activated a Weapon Arm: Grappler, allowing him to use a chain and hook to pull himself out. He found that Gravity was dispelled, and he was confused.

When he did emerge, he found that the Sentient Crescent was pinned to the ground by a large stone. "Hey, joining the Cross Guard has its perks. I got a Nature Arm: Grand Boulder from Lestava back when we were training there. I couldn't have used it earlier becaues your Crescent would have sliced it in half, but with Gravity, I could activate the Arm right on top of the Crescent, making it impossible to retrieve." Pano smirked.

"You'll pay for underestimating..." Before Leno could finish, all four parts of the Ball Hammer rammed into his skull, taking him down.

"You should never have betrayed our family, Leno. Only by staying with and protecting your friends and family can you learn true strength. That's why Rolan and Candice are so strong, even if they are Chess Pieces. You're a dirty traitor, Leno. I feel ashamed that I have to concede that you are a part of my clan... That you are my brother... That you share my flesh and blood!" Pano yelled angrily.

"Sis... I'm... I'm sorry... But... I don't know what to say... I saw father die, but I couldn't do anything about it... And... And I joined these guys... I betrayed you..." Leno mumbled.

Pano suddenly smiled: "I'm glad that Ball Hammer was able to whack you back to your senses, Leno."

"Wha-? Why are you smiling?"

"No matter what, you're my brother. What's past is past, but you should take care of me like a real older brother, and not be that dirty traitor you were! No matter what happens, I love you... Even though I might hate you at the same time!" Pano's smile turned into a frown as she glared at him.

"Sis..."

"Winner: Cross Guard, Pano!" The voice shouted again.

Pano and Leno felt themselves being pulled back from the Arena, and Pano couldn't wait to see Jack again...

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1. My fellow Americans, now's the time to practice your knowledge of the metric system. Lol, just kidding, it's about 262 feet. A bit more, actually. Man, Pano's one strong warrior, isn't she?  



	13. Vengeance

Chapter 13: Vengeance

"Cross Guards, Colonel, Jack... Versus... Chess Pieces, Honored Knight, Candice..." A voice yelled, startling Jack as he snapped into consciousness.

Jack opened his eyes to find himself in a huge wasteland, with boulders and broken stalagtites lying everywhere. He tightened his grip on the Battle Scoop, and walked around. "Where are you, Candice?" He hissed, worried that she was luring him into a trap.

"Boulder Fang!" He heard her voice cry from his right. "Earth Wave!" He shouted, hoping that the clod of earth would counter the fangs of stone. Unfortunately, half of the stones from Boulder Fang still managed to burst from the Earth Wave and fly down towards him. "Boulder Crush!" Candice commanded, hoping to impale Jack, but Jack used Earth Beans, and the stones, which weren't moving that fast, were finally entangled by the mass of vines, even though those vines were now damaged and unable to be used for offensive purposes.

"Oh, is wittle Jack getting scared now?" Candice laughed.

"You're a sore loser, Candice, getting bitter over the fact that I fought you to a draw in a fair match! It's not my fault that you lack..." Jack was cut off when a large boulder came crashing down on him.

"Because of you, I was disqualified from protecting Phantom when he needed it most... Had I beaten you, I'd be given that training that I needed to help stand by Phantom's side... He died, and I was powerless to do anything, all because of you!"

Jack grunted as he threw the boulder off of him. "The person you loved died, and you were robbed of the right to protect him. I understand that, and I would have had some sympathy... But I can't feel sorry or sympathetic for you at all. Do you understand why? This makeshift family of yours is responsible for the deaths of countless people! So many of my friends and people who I would have called family died because of your friends and 'family.' My father was killed at Weasel's hands! And you ask me to be kind and forgiving. I can't forgive you, Candice, and though you loved Phantom and grieve for him, I cannot do the same. Don't go crying in front of me, saying how pained you are, because you are well aware of what Phantom did to countless families, and what you did as well! The crimes of the Chess Pieces cannot be forgotten, and all of you will have to pay for what you did. Candice, this time I will win, and when I do, well, I'll let you join Phantom... In Hell!" The warrior snarled as he raised the Battle Scoop.

Candice activated her Boulder Axe, and the two fought in hand to hand combat, but Jack soon found that Jake's old shovel could do little against a giant axe. Jack was forced to jump back, and proceeded to rail at Candice: "If you were truly a good person, then you would have realized that you were in the wrong, and you would have joined us, like Pano, Ash, Galian, and Julie. But instead, you still helped Phantom. If you truly loved him, you would have tried to stop him from doing such evil deeds, but you didn't. Now, he died because you did not stop him from commiting such sins. You don't really love Phantom, do you, Candice?"

"How Dare You!" Candice shrieked as she threw another Boulder Fang at him.

This time, three of the fangs succeeded in stabbing parts of Jack's body. Seeing that they actually hit this time, Candice ordered the fangs to perform Boulder Crush!

But, just like their last fight, Jack escaped with Bean Shield.

The moment Jack emerged, he was crushed again by Grand Boulder, and when Jack threw off the Boulder, he found that a series of clay pigeons were headed for him. Jack stood there for a second, confused as to what this new attack was, and when they exploded and burned him, he realized that he was truly an idiot in more ways than one.

Staggering out of the smoke from the explosion, Jack activated a new ability: "Grand Flower!" From the vines scattered everywhere, a large flower began to bloom. Pollen shot from it, making it hard for Candice to see Jack, and, at the same time, making her sneeze constantly. With this distraction, Jack activated Grand Flower's own ability, Soothing Nectar. By drinking this liquid, he was able to heal his wounds and keep himself alert.

"So the monkey learned a few new tricks... Nice, but don't think that I haven't improved either!" Candice snarled. "Nature Arm: Sand Storm!" She shouted. The Arm helped make the field covered in pollen and sand, and since the pollen had mostly drifted to the ground, Jack now found himself choking and unable to see.

Jack used Earth Wave, trying to clear a path through the sand and hit Candice in the process, but all of his attacks missed. Candice used Boulder Fang, but it seemed that sand storm was a double-edged sword in that she, too, missed with her attacks. Boulder Crush failed to hit Jack as well.

The storm continued to rage for several minutes, making both warriors weaker and weaker as they wasted magic power trying to take each other down.

The storm began to clear somewhat, and Candice took the opportunity to use one more Boulder Fang...

This time, one of the Fangs succeeded in stabbing through the cuff of Jack's shirt, sending him high into the air.

As Jack was about to land, Candice activated her strongest Arm: "Nature Arm: Titanic Spire!"

No matter what Soothing Nectar was able to do, Titanic Spire stabbed into his chest. Jack gasped at the blow, and as he slowly began to feel the grasp of death, thoughts flew in his mind. He thought of Ginta, and how he and Ginta defeated the Chess last year. He thought of how he proved his strength by fighting Weasel... He thought of the woman he loved, Pano, and the fact that she was once an ally of the woman who gave him this deadly blow...

Jack weakly turned to Candice, and, as blood began to flow from the side of his mouth, he panted: "Well... Killing me proves nothing, Candice... You only show... That you're a great warrior... But did you really avenge Phantom? No... Alviss is the one who killed him... You got rid of me, a man who wanted to avenge his father and save Mar Heaven... All you've proven is that you're stronger than me... In the long run... Does that... Does that really... Matter?... Goodbye, Candice... I'm sure... That you're still going to meet him down there..." Jack gasped as death finally took hold of him.

Candice stood there for a moment, and sighed: "He's right... Killing him didn't solve anything... I stained my hands for no good reason at all... I'm... So tired..."

"Winner, Chess Pieces, Candice!"

Candice deactivated Titanic Spire, and as Jack's body hit the ground, she felt herself being pulled away. As she began to disappear, Jack's body, too, began to glow and be teleported...

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Sorry, Jack fans... Dorothy's promise was not kept after all...


	14. Clashing Ideals

Just between you and me, I think that the fight between Jack and Candice had the least depth... But I really wasn't planning anything amazing for that fight, other than the fact that Jack was killed.

To me, this upcoming fight is so much better...

Chapter 14: Clashing Ideals

Galian found himself in a dark alley. He turned to his left, and saw a wall. He turned around, and saw another wall. "It's like I'm in a slum or something..." Galian thought. He shivered slightly, the Luberian did not have a fond memory of slums.

"You hate these kinds of places. That's why you made Luberia, right?" He heard Rolan ask.

"Where are you?" Galian looked around. He felt something hit his head, and looked up. Rolan was smiling with his hand outstretched and palm open. It looked like Rolan had dropped a rock on Galian.

"Chess Pieces, Third in Command, Rolan... Versus... Luberia, Second in Command, Galian!"

"So, are you going to come down here, or will I have to go up there?" Galian asked, bracing himself for a sprint.

"So you think you can actually run up this wall? Cool. But, no, I want you to follow me!" Rolan laughed as he ran away.

Galian sprinted up the wall, and when he made it to the top of the building, he saw Rolan gliding away from him with his Elle d'Angel. "Get back here!" Galian yelled.

"Can you reach me?" Rolan smiled. Feather Darts from Rolan's wings flew at Galian, who used his Hiraiken to slice them to bits. "Don't underestimate a man with a sword!" Galian warned.

"Let's chat!"

"Why?"

"Why? Because you're quite an interesting guy!"

"What do you mean?"

Rolan answered by swooping right over Galian's head and flying in the other direction. Galian jumped over the alley to reach the opposite rooftop, and activated Electric Frisbee. When the Frisbees charged the Hiraiken, Galian used it like a cannon and pointed it at Rolan, sending a thunderbolt towards the flying Chess Piece.

Rolan quickly dodged the bolt, and laughed: "Nice! You're using the tactic that you used to practice with when Peta was around."

"Don't remind me of those times!"

"Why not? Those were the times when we were friends."

"Not anymore. By befriending you, I betrayed Luberia."

"You didn't betray Luberia. You gave them Nanashi, and tried to teach them to be stronger. It's not your fault that they failed your test."

"I never accepted Peta's attack on the Fort!"

"But you smiled and burned the torn Luberia flag. That shows that you eventually supported it."

"Don't make any assumptions about me, Rolan!"

"I'm not assuming. You're just not accepting the truth, old friend." Rolan looked at him seriously. This actually shocked Galian a little. This was the first time he saw Rolan with a serious face.

Galian was speechless, and Rolan spoke: "You're a good man. You made Luberia so that the people who lived in these kinds of slums could have a better life. I was practically raised in these slums, so I know how hard it is. Thank you. You helped a lot of people like me."

"What?... Why are you thanking me?"

"I don't want to hurt you, Galian, because if Phantom wasn't my benefactor, I know that you would have been instead. You might not be much older than me, but you worked just as hard as Phantom..."

"Don't compare me with that lunatic! What I did for those misfortunate souls was give them a home and a new meaning in life! What Phantom did was manipulate and use them for his own purposes! I did no such thing!" Galian yelled.

"Why are you so angry, Galian?"

"I refuse to be associated with my enemy!"

"But you manipulated those people too..."

"Wha-?"

"You made them into criminals, and, in a way, you profited from their gains, didn't you?"

"I..."

"That makes you not that different than Phantom, he had us do criminal things, and profited from the gains... Well, the Orb profited more, but Phantom still got something out of it..."

"How..."

"Galian, don't deny it. You and Phantom are very similar people. So similar that one can say that it's no surprise that you founded Luberia and he was the apparent leader of the Chess Pieces. Don't be so quick to insult him when you're so similar to him!"

"I... I am like him?..." Galian was taken aback. Rolan continued hovering in the air, and smiled: "See? You can see the evil that others have, but can you see the evil that lies in you?" (1.)

"But... But there's one difference, Rolan..."

"What is that?"

"We all make mistakes, but in the end, there are those who recognize those mistakes and are willing to make up for them..." Galian tried to explain.

"But some mistakes are too grave to be remedied..."

"True... However, there's an old saying: it's the thought that counts. I intend to be loyal to Luberia and to aid in its recovery, even if they don't accept my presence. Phantom, however, had no intention of helping Mar Heaven after he realized what he had done. Instead, he felt depressed that no one truly loved him during his last few minutes..." (2.)

Rolan raised an eyebrow: "Can you blame him for being depressed?"

"Heck, no! Even I still have nightmares over what I did! But what I'm saying is that instead of being depressed, he should have tried to help Mar Heaven somehow..."

"You had the fortune of having Nanashi and Sophie forgive you somewhat for your crimes, and from that bit of forgiveness, you had a base from which you could start showing your goodwill. Now, Luberia appreciates you once again. Phantom had no such thing. No one forgave him for his sins. Candice and I watched him suffer in his last moments. You were pampered by Nanashi and Sophie, in a way. You did not suffer like he did, and you got lucky from that. But don't tell me how Phantom should have been when you are the same kind of person who just got lucky!" Rolan snapped.

"You truly do love Phantom... I think that the Chess gain some honor for having you as their third in command. Halloween is a dirty coward, and from what I know of Weasel, he's a bitter and deceitful old man. But you... You have a pure heart..."

"Thank you. It's a pity that I can't say the same for you..."

"I'm far from being a pure soul, that's for sure. But, what makes me different from you is that I want to do pure good. I don't want to perform any more dastardly deeds. You, on the other hand, are bound by your love for Phantom and your loyalty to your friends, so you plan to continue the destruction of Mar Heaven..."

"So stealing isn't bad, is it?"

"Well... Um..."

"I suppose that makes Nanashi a bad person too..."

Galian gripped tightly on the Hiraiken: "I may be a bad person in so many ways, that much is true, but don't insult Nanashi in such a manner! Nanashi is a good man! He did so much for his comrades, much like you! He has always been a much better man than I ever was! (3.) He would never turn his back on his friends, just like you! He would rather die than betray them... And only recently have I shared such sentiments. You and Nanashi both know what loyalty truly means, while I still have much to learn. To insult Nanashi is to insult yourself, Rolan!"

"But I don't think that I'm really a good person..."

Galian was quite surprised at this admittance.

"I do evil things for the man I love. They are horrible things. I kill women and children just to ensure that the Chess will continue their reign of terror. Do I enjoy it? No. But that was Phantom's dream, and I owe Phantom so much... I have to do all of those things for him. To tell the truth, I'd rather be playing in the fields with flowers and children. That's why I always liked Ash, and I still do, even if he's a traitor."

"Rolan... I don't know what to say..."

"There's nothing more to say, Galian. We still have a fight to finish..."

"But what does it prove? What is our purpose for fighting? You don't want to necessarily attack me, do you?"

"I don't want to..."

"Good."

"But I must!"

"Why?!"

"For Phantom... For my family, the Chess Pieces... For Peta and Diana, who were both friends... For all of those Chess Pieces who died fighting the Cross Guard and Mar, I have to fight you, and defeat you. I probably have to kill you, since you're such a high ranking member of Luberia. I don't want to, Galian, but duty and debts tell me to. I owe everything to Phantom and to my family, and I can't fail them. Goodbye, Galian of Luberia. Weapon Arm: Rapier Whip!" Rolan yelled.

"Weapon Arm: Electric Feather!" Galian shouted. Rolan found that the feathers kept him from getting too close.

The last thing Galian needed was for Rolan to get close. Galian could not afford to face Rolan in close combat, as Rapier whip explodes, and a sword would not be so useful in such a situation. Rolan, realizing that he couldn't get close to Galian, activated Stone Cube. Galian immediately activated Electric Frisbee, and he once again made Hiraken into his "Electro Cannon" and used extreme bolts of electricity to crack the cubes. (4.)

A few cubes still approached Galian, who had to try dodging them. However, his attempts failed, and they exploded. However, Galian's Holy Arm Restore helped him recover from his burns somewhat.

Electric Feather was able to keep Rolan at a distance until Rolan, realizing that his Rapier Whip really couldn't destroy enough of the feathers, activated his Guardian: Cockatrice!

Cockatrice flapped its wings, blowing some of the feathers away, and when they regrouped, Cockatrice petrified them with its breath.

Galian, knowing that his 'Electro Cannon' was out of the question now that Stone Cube damaged his frisbees, decided to use Torpedine.

Cockatrice dived towards Torpedine, who answered with a giant thunderbolt that fried the poor bird. Cockatrice went down, but before Torpedine could fry Rolan, Galian told it to halt.

"Rolan, you're exhausted, and so am I. In the end, all this fight really does is kill off one of two men who, in the end, aren't truly evil... Well, I hope I'm not, but I digress. My point is that there's no need for either one of us to die. If you surrender, you can continue living your life, and you can pay Phantom his due respects while others spit on his grave. You can keep his memory alive, and cherish him, unlike those who cannot see what you saw in him. What do you say?" Galian asked.

Deep down inside, Galian knew that, by sparing Rolan, they could probably prevent the Chess survivors from feeling bitter, since one of their top commanders was not killed. In fact, the Chess might be more willing to surrender! But the main reason was that Galian really didn't want to kill Rolan... It didn't feel right to kill a man who was so loyal, and who had so much love for another person... Galian only wished that he knew half of what Rolan knew about loyalty and true love.

But Rolan didn't accept the offer. "Darkness Arm: Hidden Chain!" He answered. Galian was chained to the ground, and the chains coiled around his neck, choking him harder and harder. "Galian, if you were to spare me, then my life would have no more meaning. In order for me to honor Phantom, you must die. That's how it is. I don't want to do this, but either you die, or I die. We cannot both live through this..."

"Rolan... We don't have to do this!" Galian gasped as the chains gradually tightened themselves.

"Yes, we do!" Rolan began to force the chains to tighten further, and Galian began to turn blue. Realizing that he was going to pass out, a tear fell from behind Galian's bandana and hit the ground. "Torpedine!" Galian let out a desperate gasp.

Torpedine released an enormous lightning bolt on Rolan, and the Knight smiled as the bolt flew towards him. "I see that light... Phantom, I can finally see you again... I've never felt happier!" Rolan raised his hands and embraced the bolt as it came crashing down on him...

Hidden Chain broke, and Galian slowly got back on his feet. Before him, there was a huge fried corpse that was still smoking. Torpedine was recalled, and Galian stabbed Hiraiken into the ground. "Rest in Peace, Rolan..." Galian choked, feeling terrible that he had to take the life of such a great person...

"Winner: Luberia, Galian!"

Galian felt himself being pulled back, and Rolan's body was warped as well...

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1. That second sentence, by the way, is my favorite quote. I felt it appropriate that Rolan, whom I really don't mind, says that to Galian, who is still a traitor. He's penitent, yes, and he's willing to make amends, which makes him have some honor and a conscience, but he was still a traitor, and he denies some of his evils. In the end, Galian's a good man, but there is also a lot of evil in him that cannot afford to be ignored. If Galian cannot control his evil, then he will become a major threat to all who know him.

2. As a former Knight, Candice may have told Galian some of Phantom's last words before Galian finally turned on her and rejoined Luberia.

3. Mind you, Alan's hearing all of this right now, and Nanashi will probably begin to cry when he knows that Galian said such words from the bottom of his heart.

4. Yep, strong lightning can split rocks.

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Looking back at this chapter, Rolan seems contradictory. He calls Phantom and Galian both evil and good. I think it's because he loves Phantom, and though he sees Phantom's evils, he still thinks of Phantom as a good man, and he feels that Galian is also a good man, even with all of his evils. Rolan has an ambiguous view towards both men, and I guess that that's what makes Rolan, Galian, and Phantom so interesting... They're so ambiguous that's it tough to really damn them. In the long run, the same thing goes for Peta. Though in the case of Halloween, I don't really see much of the good in Halloween...


	15. Weak and Strong

Chapter 15: Weak and Strong

John felt his feet hit the ground as the Arm finally ceased teleporting his body. Looking around, he saw ruined buildings and several dead bodies. Unfortunately, these were the bodies of his comrades in the Caldean Defense Forces.

Activating the Staff of Boreas, John nodded as he surveyed the destruction: "It's all an illusion. There are ten Arenas and one of them is back in Caldea. It seems that the Chess stole nine of them and planned out this scenario. He who uses Arena has the right to teleport people to a concrete illusion that resembles an actual area. Everything will feel, look, and even taste real, but it is all an illusion. I cannot let these fake replicas of my former comrades delude me. Ekiar! Show yourself!"

"I thought, as a Calden, you'd be able to find me, hmn?" Ekiar taunted. His laugh echoed throughout the Arena.

John sighed and snapped his fingers: "Relep!" He commanded.

In a millisecond, John disappeared and reappeared thirty feet away, at the side of one of the ruined houses in the distance.

A voice made him snap out of his thoughts for a moment: "Cross Guards, Caldean Champion, John... Versus... Chess Pieces, Gold Bishop, Ekiar!"

The wizard looked all around, but could not find his opponent. "These charred buildings make everything look black, and since Ekiar's robe is black, he can easily camouflage himself among these ruins. I must be careful..." John thought. As he looked around, he came up with an idea. Putting an image of Ekiar in his head, he mumbled: "Cal Desscher..."

A golden ball appeared in his palm, and John released the ball. It flew aimlessly about, and suddenly began diving at a point to John's right. John heard a loud boom moments later, and Ekiar let out a yelp in pain. "Found you!" John chuckled.

"Interesting. You're apparently a competent sorcerer. But I'm sure that you still cannot defeat me!" Ekiar emerged, and raised his hand. "Nature Arm: Thunderclap!"

The ball of electricity appeared in the air, and John, realizing that warping would do little use, as the lightning can seek out its opponents, decided to use a different strategy. He raised his staff, and it began to rain in Ekiar's direction.

The rain poured onto both combatants, and the thunderball was disrupted by its constant downfall. Ekiar, furious at the attack, decided to use a different strategy. "Weapon Arm: Thirsty Sickle!"

John ceased the rains, and cast another spell: "Har Echelon!" A wall of flames blocked Ekiar's way, and when the Bishop used his sickle to disrupt the flames and made a leap of faith through them, John simply smiled and with a twirl of his hands, the wall of flames became a circle that surrounded his opponent. Raising his extended palm up and clenching it into a fist made the circle slowly shrink in diameter.

Ekiar laughed. If he was able to leap through a fire wall, what could a fire circle do to him? He lept through the circle, and was promptly hit by a stream of fireballs. John had muttered another spell: Harik Esonia, under his breath.

"You must think that you are so superior, being able to do so many cheap parlor tricks! Real warriors fight in the open! Nature Arm: Earth Break!"

The ground below the magician began to quake, and Relep could do little to save John. The cracks in the earth seemed to continue spreading in his direction no matter where he warped.

"Now face me like a man!" Ekiar laughed.

"Eth Lymphosa!" The mage replied. His opponent was hit square in the chest. As he staggered back, John cast another Har Echelon, this time blocking his opponent's escape route. With this obvious tactic, he clearly humiliated his opponent, and tried to finish him with a final Pal Lymphosa. This spell was known as "Thunder Bolt" in the common tongue. Ekiar could feel the surge of electricity from both above and below him, and those two charges connected and proceeded to fry him, since he was the connection for their current.

The white flash of light and the electrical discharge forced John to cover his face, but when it was over, Ekiar was still standing, and laughing.

"You're no special mage. You know some random spells that any child could master. What tactics do those Caldean fools say you have mastered, hmn? If this is how powerful you are, then I pity Caldea for only having Dorothy as their sole competent fighter, for she's the only one of your kind who can actually defeat warriors like myself. No wonder why Phantom and Diana left Caldea, and I'm not surprised that Dorothy has no intention to return. Your arrogance is your undoing! Do you want to see how one really uses Pal Lymphosa? Then here!" Ekiar pointed his finger at John.

With a crack, white lightning ran through John's body. The mage found himself convulsing as his opponent was casting that powerful spell on him. After a few moments, all John could do was stagger.

"You... You couldn't be!"

"So you've heard of me too, eh?"

"The Elder's grandson... Apprenticed to Diana at twelve... Died from illness after only a year... The corpse was so infected that there could not be an open casket funeral..."

"It was all a ruse, and you idiots fell for it!"

"How... How did Diana manage to hide you?"

"And why would I tell you that, blind sheep?"

"I... I do not understand... Why did you fake your own death?"

"Why do you think I did so? Aren't you confused why your best of Caldean comrades could not even defend their hometown from the Chess invasion? You keep that tradition of arrogance and idiocy. I am sick of Caldean law and Caldean blindness. You shelter yourselves from the outside world, believing that your magic is far superior to the world outside. You are in the wrong! It is through experiencing your enemies that you are able to enhance your own abilities. You came here unprepared, John of Caldea, and by killing you, I can make my first step to ridding Caldea of idiots and training a new generation of strong wizards who will break those old traditions and release their true strength!" Ekiar pointed at the white robbed wizard before him.

"You... You dirty traitor..."

"How am I a traitor? I help purify Caldea..."

"How many lives do you intend to take?"

"If I have to purge Caldea of all human life in order to end that vile tradition, I'll do it..."

"Relep!"

"So you run, hmn, how brave of you!"

Hiding behind an imitation of a ruined Caldean warehouse, John realized how weak he truly was, but did all that training amount to nothing? There had to be a way to defeat Ekiar... Somehow...

"Weapon Arm: Thirsty Sickle!" Ekiar readied his Arm. "Once I find you, I'll simply drain your blood and watch you contort in pain. You and your high class glory can die merrily, knowing that I'll destroy that way of life!"

"There must be a reason why he would betray his hometown and his clan... He must have a major weakness that humiliates him. He's clearly the proud sort, so there has to be one..." John pondered as Ekiar continued moping around in search of him.

"Eth Narum!" John shouted.

"Hah! You'd weaken your spells and the water attacks from that staff of yours just to increase your speed? This lamb really knows how to run! Maybe that's why they kept you, so that you could help them retreat when the going got tough! And they call you a Caldean hero!" Ekiar threw his head back and laughed even louder.

Which proved to be his mistake...

Another Eth Lymphosa hit Ekiar in the back, and by using Eth Rassa, known as God's Touch, John healed his wounds. Without feeling the pain of Ekiar's previous spell, John used the Staff of Boreas to drench his opponent with water. To finish things up, John struck Ekiar with another Pal Lymphosa. (1.)

Ekiar was convulsing about, and the static continued to shock him as he tried to retaliate. John used Relep and appeared right in front of Ekiar, but before the bishop could stab him with the sickle, John rammed his staff into Ekiar's chest. The wizard could have sworn that he heard the crack of bone.

"No wonder why you're so obsessed with strength, and why you wear that big and obvious black cloak. You were using Nature Arms to harden your bones and make yourself more physically fit, weren't you? By drenching you with salt water, and using that Thunderbolt, I must have damaged your Arm, and with this attack from my staff, your bones broke... You must feel disillusioned from Caldea because those magic spells failed to give you the power you yearned for while your body failed you. Diana must have given you that bone-hardening Nature Arm to help your constitution, and your frustration with being so brittle and weak made you lust for strength, and once you gained strength, you became proud and arrogant. But deep down, you're still that frail little boy..." John shook his head.

Ekiar gasped: "Don't make a fool out of me! My Grandfather thought that I was weak, so he tossed me over to Diana, who wanted little to do with such a weak boy... He promised Arms and things for her, and she eventually relented... After getting some Nature Arms from her, I was able to make myself more useful, and through serving her she eventually thanked me by letting me accompany her when she and Phantom left Caldea! I slowly rose up to where I am today, and you will not take all of that away, filthy Caldean!"

"To blame your family and your people for something that is not in their control is something that I cannot forgive. We cannot control how our bodies are made, Ekiar. That happens by chance, and that is how we evolved. You may think that you are superior to them because you have used whatever you had to become what you are now, but you are still pathetic on so many levels, Ekiar, and now the truth has hit you."

"Lord... Halloween... Said that I was much like him... That I was commendable for wanting to be strong... But now I failed him! Damn you, Caldean!" Ekiar gasped.

John raised his staff, and closed his eyes: "I think you'd better damn yourself, former Son of Caldea." John shed a tear for the Elder as he plunged his staff downwards. (2.)

"Winner, Cross Guards, John!" The voice yelled again.

Both John and Ekiar's remains were teleported out of the arena.

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1. John's Spell List is included below, as well as in my profile:

John's Spell List:

Eth Lymposa: (Holy Bolt) Fires a blue beam that is capable of piercing through the toughest of armor. Of course, the strength of the beam depends on the user's magical power.

Harik Esonia: (Burning Rain) A stream of fireballs is released. Each bullet is capable of causing severe burns.

Pal Lymposa: (Thunder Bolt) A large stream of white lightning appears from above and below the opponent(s) simultaneously, frying them between two charges.

Cal Desccher: (Golden Bomb) A large golden sphere is cast from the user's hand or staff and pursues the enemy. It explodes upon contact.

Relep: (Warp) Allows the user to teleport to a space within the user's sight.

Eth Rassa: (Holy Touch) The user can either heal him/herself or heal a nearby ally. However, as this spell is being cast, only defensive spells may be used.

Har Echelon: (Flame Barrier) A wall of flames appears in front of the user. Can also be modified to become a fire circle, but the circle's diameter will be smaller than the width of the wall version. This barrier can harm the enemy, or the enemy's Guardians, or any enemy object if touched.

Eth Narum: (God Speed) User's speed is increased, the side effect is that all of the user's spells and physical attacks will be weaker. This affects Arm use to a lesser degree, but still weakens the Arm strength somewhat.

2. Is John a hero, or is he really an extreme loyalist who does rather evil things for the Elder? I think that these high ranking Caldeans are too mysterious for us to really know how they are...


	16. Facing the Past

Chapter 16: Facing the Past

A mysterious voice greeted Dorothy as she felt herself being pulled onto a cold floor: "Cross Guards, Caldean Hero, Dorothy... Versus... Chess Pieces, Honored Knight, Pinnochio!" (1.)

Dorothy looked around. Apparently, this area looked very similar... "Wait... It can't be..." She thought. This was the room from her childhood. She sighed: "If only it were all real..."

Pinnochio was nowhere in sight, and she couldn't sense his magical power anywhere nearby. Sitting on her old bed, she began to think of the time she spent with Diana...

_A little girl is lying down on a hard tile floor. She smiles as turns her head and looks around on the mass of dolls neatly placed all around the room. Gently taking one, she shakes it a little and role-plays a mock tea party with it. She continues having fun for several minutes, and another person enters the room._

_"Sis!"_

_Diana smiles: "Dorothy, having fun?"_

_The little Dorothy notices another toy in Diana's hands. "Thank you, sis!"_

_Diana hands Dorothy the toy, pats her on the head, and as Dorothy runs off to continue playing, Diana watches her... Strangely though, the older girl isn't smiling... She seems to have her mind elsewhere._

"Even then, Diana was planning her escape... If only I was a little older, and could understand what was going on..." The witch sighed and shook her head.

---------

Pinnochio continued to traverse the various hallways of what was once the glorious Estir manor. (2.) He snickered as he looked around: "Dorothy the witch defeated me once, but she has no idea what I am capable of now! As a living doll, I cannot bleed, so even if I lose parts of me, I will not take damage like a human. I will not be weaker. I might lose an ability, but my other attacks will still be as effective as when I first entered combat. She's doomed!"

Dorothy grabbed onto the Broom of Zephryus. "Huh, speaking of Caldea, I wonder if John's doing well in his match... But, anyway, I'm sure that stupid doll is wandering around nearby. The last think I need is for him to break down the door and catch me off guard with Liar Nose." She thought. The witch quickly darted out of the room and through the passageways resembling those of the building she once called home.

Pinnochio and Dorothy were both very familiar with the terrain. Dorothy grew up in the manor, and Pinnochio was, well, created there. They played a perfect game of cat and mouse as they avoided each other, traveling through the house as secretly as they could. Eventually, Dorothy decided to set a trap and stay put in one of the halls. As Pinnochio turned a corner and she spotted him, he was immediately greeted by a slash of wind from the Zephryus broom.

Being a wooden doll, he was hit by the slashes of wind and had several cuts on his body, but he laughed: "I'm not a human, Dorothy, so you can cut my wood all you want! I will still kill you!"

Bullets from Liar Nose filled the hall as Pinnochio swung the cannon from side to side. It seemed that, being a compulsive liar and deluded with the notion that he was more powerful than any of the Cross Guard, the nose was always active.

Dorothy slipped away into one of the rooms of the hall, and Pinnochio continued to advance, covering himself with more and more bullets from his nose. His laughs made a constant, irritating ring in Dorothy's ears.

"There's got to be an Arm that can withstand his bullets. After all, they aren't that powerful. Guardian Arm: Crucified Scarecrow!"

The Scarecrow proceeded to move down the corridor, smacking bullets aside like nobody's business. Heck, no matter what Pinnochio tried to do, he couldn't put a dent in the Scarecrow.

"That's troublesome..." Pinnochio frowned. "Fastito Galon can't fit in this hallway, and my new Arm... Well... That's too big too... Unless... Guardian Arm: Maxi!" (3.)

Dorothy heard a huge booming noise, and a terrifying laugh. She heard a blast from a cannon, and, suddenly, her Scarecrow Arm shattered.

"Scarecrow!" Dorothy gasped.

Dorothy quickly picked up the pieces of the Arm and stored it in a small pouch by her side. Because she was a Caldean hero, John could easily convince the elder to help reforge the Arm, and Scarecrow would be good as new. Of course, that was assuming that she'd be able to survive this battle.

Maxi continued to crawl up the hall. Dorothy saw the end of its nose pass the doorway that she was in. Apparently, this Pinnochion II remake could not get into the room, but it could help ensure that Dorothy could not escape so that Pinnochio could go into the room and kill her.

"I hope I still remember my spells." Dorothy mumbled as she pointed the Broom of Zephryus at the outside wall. "Eth Lymphosa!" She yelled. A beam of bluish light made a hole through the wall, and after casting it thrice, Dorothy made a hole big enough for her to escape through.

Pinnochio, hearing Dorothy escape, recalled Maxi and exited the hole as well. The moment he landed on the ground, Dorothy yelled: "Guardian Arm: Birikin!"

"Guardian Arm: Maxi!"

Maxi, the Pinnochio II remake whose Liar Nose could destroy Dorothy's scarecrow with a single hit, now stood before Birikin, the towering golem who could easily crush both combatants with its foot.

Birikin grabbed onto Maxi's long nose, and snapped it off, disabling Maxi's version of Liar Nose. This ensured that Birikin would not meet a timely end like its fellow Guardian Arm.

"Does Maxi have a brain too, Pinnochio? Because I know that Birikin just made a good move!" Dorothy taunted.

"Don't make fun of my Arms, witch! Maxi, hurry and chop it up!"

Maxi activated its giant buzzsaw chest, slicing Birikin's center. The golem quickly pushed itself away from Maxi, but found that it had a huge scar across its chest. Maxi charged forward, and Birikin responded with a punch to the face.

Turns out, the punch was strong enough to take Maxi's head clean off its shoulders. The Guardian Arm collapsed, and Pinnochio was speechless.

Dorothy sighed: "Pinnochio, you never reformed even when Diana gave you the gift of life, and even after I caused such heavy damage to you. You're still a demented little doll with the full intent to kill people. You must be destroyed, and whatever counters you might be planning for me will be in vain."

Pinnochio laughed: "Guardian Arm: Fastito Gallon! Now there's no Poko to rescue you!"

Dorothy twirled the Zephryus Broom: "Thunder Wind!"

The three Tornadoes ripped Pinnochio's wooden arms and legs off, and kept the head and torso levitating in mid air. As Birikin grabbed onto Fastitio Galon's lips and tried to hold it off, Dorothy twirled her broom one last time and pointed it at Pinnochio. Three streaks of wind helped to seperate Pinnochio's torso from his head, slash through the Liar Nose cannon and, thus, render it useless, and make a second hole in Pinnochio's forehead. The force of these two wind strikes on Pinnochio's head caused cracks in the wood to form between them, and Pinnochio's head split in the middle, eventually snapping nearly in two. The left and right sides of Pinnochio's head were connected only by what was left of his chin.

Dorothy saw Pinnochio's eyes dimming, and with a final whack with the metal section of her broom, Pinnochio's head cracked into two pieces. The eyes completely went out, and Dorothy knew that Pinnochio was finally gone.

Dorothy's face was covered in tears as she thought of her older sister. "Diana... Why did everything have to end like this...?"

_"But you know something, Dorothy? I never stopped loving you..."_

_"No fair saying something like that now... Big sis..."_

The young witch shook her head, and sighed: "Rest in peace, Diana, and may your soul be happy knowing that one of your previous mistakes has been remedied. Now, it's time for me to ensure that the future won't be bitter like the past..."

"Winner, Cross Guards, Dorothy!" The voice cried again. Dorothy felt herself being pulled away, and Pinnochio's remains were teleported as well.

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1. I find that rather annoying, but I thought that it was necessary to continue the War Game tradition of announcing the combatants. If you find it annoying as well, dear reader, please let me know.

2. The family names Estir and Orche were chosen at random. I think Dorothy's glad to get rid of the name when she marries with those 'outsiders.' Alviss probably has a more interesting last name... But I could just be biased against Caldea..

3. Maxi means big. I came up with that name for Pinnochio's Guardian because I was thinking of the game Startropics, where in a cemetary there is a huge ghost named Maxi that you must fight.


	17. An Aged Conclusion

I'm so excited to post this chapter. There are too few Weasel and Gaira fanfics on here! Now that I've written this chapter, and I've already written Veteran, the oneshot for Gaira, I should do one for Weasel!

Chapter 17: An Aged Conclusion

"Cross Guards, Second in Command, Gaira... Versus... Chess Pieces, Second in Command, Weasel!"

Gaira and Weasel entered the Arena to find themselves face to face. They were in a giant garden, with beautiful plants covering the area.

"Ironic..." Gaira began, eyeing the many roses that were blooming in the bushes surrounding them. "Your talents lie in beauty like this, yet they are used for such evil deeds."

Weasel laughed: "When you are as old as me, Gaira, and learn the truth, then you'll have a right to criticize me for my actions. Otherwise, you still have no idea what you are saying."

Gaira was about to grab onto his Frost Storm Nature Arm when Weasel spoke: "Now, Gaira, you've existed for fifty years now, half a century. What can you tell me about the state of the world?"

"The world is both a beautiful and horrible place. Evil and Good coexist, and mankind is forced to make decisions that often shift between these two ways of action. By itself, nature is neutral. The tiger eats because it is hungry, but it will stop eating and not bother anyone when it is full. (1.) But mankind has the ability to make evil or good choices. No man is purely consumed by either way of action, and therefore one can do evil deeds but have somewhat good intentions, or one can perform many good deeds with the intention of manipulating those who receive his goodwill. However, I believe that though there is much ugliness in the world, there is no right for anyone to destroy it, as the potential for good is also very strong."

Weasel laughed: "You are naive, Gaira. People are innately selfish. They will do whatever it takes that is good for them. If they 'feel good' by doing a good deed, they will do it. But if performing a good deed brings them inconvenience or harm, they will not do it. Humans are stupid. They hardly learn from their mistakes, no matter what those blind optimists would tell you. I can't believe that you do not see either of this! I've lived for 85 years, now. I have such a short time left in this world before I have to say that I've lived a century without helping to purify the world of human selfishness and stupidity. I must purge this world of idiots, and, therefore, anyone who gets in my way will have to die. That includes you, Gaira of the Cross Guard!'

"With age comes experience, at least that's what many wise men say. However, it seems that your age has brought you arrogance. What made you think that I'd be phased by such a statement? You may be older than me, Weasel of the Chess, but do not even dare to believe that my fifty years of experience in Mar Heaven were wasted! Come try me, shameless old traitor, show me what strength you have gathered through destroying the lands of your birth!" Gaira growled.

"Nature Arm: Seed Cannon!" Weasel yelled.

"Nature Arm: Enduring Beans!" Gaira shouted.

Stuffing the beans in his mouth and swallowing them whole, Gaira ducked, and the bullets from Seed Cannon harmlessly flew over his head. Unlike Napalm Death or Liar Nose, Seed Cannon had a limited number of bullets, so after a short time, it was safe for Gaira to stand once again.

"Hah! Quite nimble, are you? Even if I were to try that when I was your age, I'd still break my knees." Weasel chuckled.

"Stop with that nonsense, you aged ruffian! Have at you! Nature Arm: Frost Storm!"

Iced seracs swiftly dived at Weasel, who covered his face with his hands. They shattered on contact with Weasel's body, and the old man could only cringe at their blows. However, they were unable to destroy the tree on his head.

"Curses, I couldn't end this quickly..."

"Interesting move, Gaira, but you shall not last long. Nature Arm: Bomb Grass!"

"Frost Storm!"

The moment Bomb Grass sprouted from the ground, Frost Storm struck the grass at the center of the patch. This caused a chain reaction that forced the entire patch to explode. Gaira was completely unaffected by the explosion, to Weasel's chagrin.

"I have to say, young Jack came up with quite an interesting attack. I've decided to make my own variation. Nature Arm: Choking Ivy!"

Vines seeping poison from their tips began to sprout from the ground and surround Gaira. Weasel laughed: "Now let's see what you will do now!"

Gaira smiled: "I think you've studied my tactics, Weasel, so you wanted to bait me this entire time. Well, let's just say that I'll... Do this!" Gaira's eyes widened, and a surge of magical power blasted the Ivy away. "Weapon Arm: Thunder Mace!" The Cross Guard veteran smirked. Pointing the mace vertically upwards and raising it over his head, Gaira allowed the bolts to fire in all directions, frying the vines before they could approach him again.

Weasel clapped his hands. "But what will you do if I use this Arm? Guardian Arm: Yggdrasil!"

"You've turned senile. Guardian Arm: Charybdis!"

The waterspout proceeded to destroy the giant tree.

Weasel could only stare with his mouth agape... For a few moments... Then he smiled: "Gaira, do you ever wonder why the Chess have grown so strong?"

"You plan to tell me that you were behind this, right?"

"Why, yes, actually. I'll let this explain..." He flicked his staff at Gaira, and Gaira suddenly had a vision in his mind...

_A mass of tendrils creep eerily in the grounds below Castle Reginleif... On the floor above them, Jack and Weasel are duking it out... Weasel is defeated, and the tendrils begin to retreat... Later, when Peta is killed, the tendrils, though having retreated some distance back into the ground, begin to glow bright yellow, and a large bluish orb leaves Peta's body to enter the underground and eventually enter the tendrils to be absorbed. Shortly afterwards, Phantom dissipates Peta's body..._

_When Phantom is finally killed by the Purific Ave, a large bluish orb leaves Lestava and enters the Reginleif underground. By now, the tendrils cover a very small surface area, but they still succeed in absorbing the bluish orb from Lestava... When the War Games end, and Weasel begins to recover, the tendrils begin to regain lost ground..._

"It... It can't be!" Gaira gasped in horror.

"Those tendrils you saw were the roots of the Tree of Life! Why did you think that Reginleif was such a critical area in all three War Games?! I planted the Tree of Life in the grounds below this castle because few people would suspect a secret so critical here! The Tree of Life has almost acquired maximum energy! It received so much energy from all of the Chess Pieces, Luberians, and Cross Guards who have died during this war, and therefore no one's death has been in vain. Everyone who died has succeeded in putting us closer to victory. Once the Tree of Life gains maximum energy, then we can unlock the greatest power of all: reviving our dead as sentient creatures who, though having lost the personality and humanity of their previous living selves, are able to still use three quarters of their former energies and are unable to 'die' again, thus it is extremely difficult, nearly impossible, in fact, to defeat them! The Tree of Life gave some of the energy it stored to all of our major Pieces, making us all much stronger. It has been our secret weapon for all of these years, and now we are able to destroy Mar Heaven once and for all with its assistance! We only need seven more souls to perish in order for the Tree of Life to reach its maximum energy! And, unlike in the past, my death no longer weakens the Tree of Life... It has already reached the point where it no longer needs me to survive! You Cross Guards are hopeless, now! You can't afford to kill us because the Tree of Life will reach its maximum potential, and you can't afford to die because your deaths equal souls for the Tree of Life. Surrender, Gaira!" Weasel laughed.

Gaira and Alan were struck speechless. From within the Arena, Gaira had fear in his eyes as he stared at the victorious Weasel. Alan, unable to move because of Halloween's Sealing Skull Arm, was now forced to stare hopelessly at Halloween, who could only smile, and say: "Aren't you wishing that your allies didn't kill off their opponents?"

Gaira grabbed his Charybdis Arm. "No matter what, you won't be able to kill me, Weasel."

"Heh, I knew that the moment you destroyed Yggdrasil. My Guardian Arm Bird of Rotting Wood and Darkness Arm Deadly Field are useless against you. Therefore... Choking Ivy!" Weasel commanded.

Gaira stepped forward, but it was too late, Weasel stabbed himself in the heart with the Arm.

Weasel smiled: "It hurts indeed... But now... Now I haven't lived my 85 years in vain... Because of Arena, no one else heard our conversation, and, thus, no one can stop my plan. I assume that everyone will kill their opponent, and even if two people fail to die, there will be at least the seven souls we need for the Tree of Life. You'd better hope that neither your comrades nor your foes died in their fights!" With those last words, Weasel collapsed.

Gaira was still stunned: "We... We fell right into his hands... Peta was the mask who everyone assumed was the main player behind everything... Weasel was the mastermind behind all of this... How could we not have seen it? Perhaps... Perhaps we've been defeated after all..."

"Winner... Cross Guards, Gaira!"

Frozen and unable to move, Gaira felt himself being pulled away. Weasel's dead body, too, was teleported from the Arena.

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1. I remember reading a report by a hunter, it was titled "On Tigers," I think. It basically declared that tigers were not innately a threat to humanity. There were many cases where Tigers would calmly watch people as they walked by them, without hurting or even bothering them.

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Commentary: To tell the truth, I'm honestly fearful of Weasel, a little. The old man, after experiencing the world for 84 years (in the Second War Game, at least, he was 78 in the First), makes the decision to kill all of humanity, and purge the world of sin. That's scary... I had to make this chapter... I really wanted to know what Gaira and Weasel would say to each other, and I hope that this chapter sounded realistic enough. I understand that Weasel sacrificing himself was strange, but I really want to know what people think of this particular chapter.


	18. Outgunned

Chapter 18: Outgunned (1.)

Charley was confused. He was warped to a place that didn't seem so special.

A voice spoke, startling him: "Luberia, Lieutenant, Charley... Versus... Chess Pieces, Knight, Alibaba..." (2.)

Suddenly, everything became pitch black, and Charley heard Alibaba growl: "When I kill you and win this match, I will move on to destroy your comrades. When I succeed in that, I will earn the title of Honorary Knight! Prepare yourself, weakling!"

Charley suddenly felt ten daggers pierce his body in several areas. He gasped and staggered about. "What... What kind of guy is this?!" He moaned.

"You're no match for me..." He heard Alibaba laugh.

The Luberian suddenly felt severe pain where his kidney should be. Staggering, he groaned: "What?... How did...?"

"I have a magic-less Weapon Arm: Tulwar for close range. Since you cannot see, well, you are doomed."

"I can't afford to lose..." Charley gasped. His magical power began to rise, and a small aura appeared around him, allowing him to see his surroundings to some degree. "Holy Arm: Healing Angel!"

"That Holy Arm can heal very little. If you had something like Panacea, you might have been able to recover enough to put up a good fight, but that'll barely do anything for you in your current condition." Alibaba chortled.

"Weapon Arm: Bee Darts!"

"Nature Arm: Flame Scimitar!"

As Charley tossed his deadly Bee Darts at the Chess Warrior, Alibaba replied with a flare from his Flame Scimitar, and burned the Bee Darts.

"I can't fight him from close range if that scimitar is burning... And he made short work of the Bee Darts... I doubt this'll work, but..." Charley snapped out of his thoughts: "Here! Guardian Arm: Raging Bull!" He yelled.

Alibaba calmly watched as the Bull rushed towards him. "They saw that a bull charges blindly at its target, without using its mind to ensure its own safety. That makes them easy opponents. Fool." With a flick of his blade, a plume of flames consumed the Bull, taking down the Guardian.

"What a waste of magical power. I'm shocked that you'd actually keep such a thing without a tactic already planned." Alibaba taunted.

Charley felt so embarrassed: "I did have a tactic, but his Scimitar burned my darts..." He mumbled.

"So, got anything else?"

"Weapon Arm: Vulcan's Hammer!" Charley readied his hammer.

"You're pathetic. My Scimitar could easily melt your..."

"Nature Arm: Earth Break!"

The ground beneath Alibaba began to crack, and the warrior hastily grabbed onto the splitting earth as it slowly spread apart.

"That was a decoy. I knew that I can't fight you hand to hand."

"Well, don't be under the impression that your decoy was any help." Alibaba replied. Releasing one hand and keeping the other grabbed onto the ledge, Alibaba readied his Genie's Lamp, and rubbed the lamp with his thumb. The Genie emerged and went for Charley.

While Charley tried to duel the Genie with his Hammer, Alibaba climbed out of the crack.

"Darkness Arm: Hungry Jaws!" Alibaba commanded. A huge set of jaws emerged from the ground from under Charley, and proceeded to chomp down on the unfortunate Luberian. (3.)

Charley could hardly defend himself. With a Genie trying to pummel him at close range, and these jaws about to saw him in half, Charley could do little to defend himself.

"I didn't even bring a Ring Dagger... What a miscalculation..." The Luberian groaned.

"Hah, I'd come to expect such last words from a pathetic warrior like yourself! Good Bye!"

Charley swung his hammer, knocking the Genie away, and tried to jump immediately afterwards, but the Darkness Arm was able to stab through his chest, and Charley of Luberia was skewered by his opponent...

"Winner, Chess Pieces, Alibaba!"

"Damn straight." Alibaba laughed.

----------

1. Before we begin, I've reread the Manga online, and it seems that Dorothy was claimed to be Diana's only relative... That means that John cannot exist...

But note, John is from another clan. I think that the Elder meant relative from a nuclear family, or from the same clan... At least, relatives from the same clan have the main responsibilty. Had Dorothy failed, it would have been John's mission instead...

Also, someone pointed out that the guy with the eyepatch was killed by Peta. Based on the anime (at least from what I remember) Charley has a mohawk. The man who attacked Peta had a full head of hair. Therefore, there are several people with eyepatches in Luberia. I probably gave Charley a bad description... Pray forgive me for that...

And yes, since I wrote the first chapter, I have watched several of the Anime episodes on Youtube. I get bored, ya know.

Also, if you're wondering how Diana could possibly not have known about the Tree of Life, well, that'll be revealed soon!

2. Considering the people who are fighting in this match and in the match that will be revealed later, I think you can predict the victor of both matches... Charley's practically doomed, and Emokis won't be able to leave with her pride (or probably life) intact...

3. AKA, this is cheap Meitios. (Jack's Venus Flytrap Guardian) 


	19. Not Worth It

Chapter 19: Not Worth It

Emokis waddled along inside her candy house. Hopefully, Arena also placed Alviss in this house, as she intended, and, thus, she'd be able to eat her way to reach him.

She heard that familiar noise: "Chess Pieces, Gold Bishop, Emokis... Versus... Cross Guards, Third in Command, Alviss!"

Crawling about, she couldn't seem to find Alviss, so she began to munch on the wall nearest her.

----------

"I've been placed in this sticky mansion of sugar, and it's not quite appealing... I must find a way out of here! Dimension Arm: Black Hole!" Alviss commanded. He began to tear holes in the house and eventually ripped an opening for himself to the outside world, or, at least, to an illusion of it. Jumping out of the hole his Dimension Arm created, Alviss smiled and turned around: "I'm sure she won't be expecting this: Thirteen Totem Pole, Cluster Strike!"

Instead of moving towards the house in their typical forward line formation, the Totem Poles attacked as a group on the very foundations of the house, piercing through them and emerging from its roof. The entire structure collapsed, and, at its center, was a chubber Emokis than normal.

"So you destroyed my house. Oh, well, I can still eat what's left..."

"I won't let you. Reverse Thirteen Totem Pole!"

The Thirteen Totem Pole went in a line formation, but instead of moving forward, they were closing in from behind Emokis and knocked her closer and closer to Alviss.

"Are you trying to get me to crush you? Perfect!" Emokis laughed as she let herself get knocked closer to him.

Soon, she began to dive towards the younger warrior, but he smirked. "Dimension Arm: Black Hole!"

Emokis screamed as she began to get sucked into the vortex. The Black Hole, of course not having nearly the same suction strength as a real black hole, slowly began to lose its tugging strength when Emokis's intestines digested the candy and made her grow bigger. Eventually, after swinging her around for a while, the Black Hole finally threw her some distance away, and she hit the ground with a crash.

Emokis, however, got up, and grunted: "That hurt, I'll give you that, but I'll still kill you, even if you have a higher rank than me!"

Alviss readied the Thirteen Totem Rod. "I'm sure I know what's coming next."

"Guardian Arm: Dandarshi!"

"Yep."

"Don't mock me!" Emokis grunted as she charged.

Realizing that Emokis was charging slower than he thought, Alviss smirked, and decided to change tactics. He deactivated the Thirteen Totem Rod. "Thirteen Totem Pole!" Alviss raised his hand.

The poles rammed into Emokis, knocking her further and further away.

But Emokis refused to give in. The moment she landed, she pulled out an Arm. "Nature Arm: Flower Pluck!"

"You can't be serious!" Alviss reactivated the Thirteen Totem Rod and ran forward.

"Pretty..."

Alviss hissed in pain.

"Ugly..."

Alviss continued charging at her, more furious than ever.

"Pretty..."

Alviss winced, the pain wasn't pleasant at all.

"Ugly..."

"Quit it!" Alviss yelled as he lept forward and struck at Emokis with the Thirteen Totem Rod, but Emokis still had Dandarshi active, and knocked him several feet back.

"Pretty!"

Alviss lept up, hissing to try to switch his thoughts from the pain to killing the demented woman.

"Dimension Arm: Black Hole!" Alviss yelled. This time having the Black Hole appear from under Emokis.

"Now you're going down the drain!" He taunted.

Emokis squealed. The pain was rather unbearable. "Ugly... Pretty... Ugly... Pretty... Ugly!" Emokis tore out the pedals like no tomorrow.

Alviss was hit by a huge explosion, and yelped in pain. Though he wasn't downed, he was unable to focus enough to keep Black Hole active, so the Dimension Arm returned to its inactive form, as a bracelet on Alviss's right wrist.

"I don't need to use it again." Alviss shook his head. He was in pain, but was hardly tired. "Thirteen Totem Pole!"

Emokis was knocked into the sky, and Alviss pulled out another Arm.

"It... You didn't..."

"Guardian Arm: A Bao A Qu!"

Emokis was encapsulated.

"I never should have challenged him... Maybe if I went against that Charley dude, and Alibaba went against this guy, we might have had more realistic fights..." Emokis groaned in the ball.

"Any last words?"

"F&$ you."

"Very well, then. Burst Up!"

A few seconds later, Emokis collapsed onto the floor. She groaned, unable to move: "Why... Why didn't you kill me?"

"I need to save my energy for someone worth it." Alviss glared at her and walked away.

"Winner, Cross Guard, Alviss!"


	20. For Him

Chapter 20: For Him

"They're warping in now." Halloween told Alan when each of the images in their heads disappeared.

"Alan!" Alviss called. Halloween deactivated Sealing Skull, and both sides decided to evaluate their casualties.

"Charley!" Galian rushed towards the fallen warrior... But his hands were cold, and there was no sign of life. Luberia's founder stabbed the Hiraiken into the ground. "Alibaba, you will face me in combat! As Luberia's second, I cannot accept this humiliation!"

Alibaba laughed: "But I have to challenge my next opponent, and it won't be you. Alviss and Dorothy of the Cross Guard, I'll take both of you on!"

Alviss laughed: "Arrogant, aren't you, Alibaba of the Chess? Seems like you haven't changed one bit. I accept your challenge! Dorothy?"

"You really know how to tick people off, don't you, Alibaba? Let's take him down together, Al." Dorothy nodded.

"I think you two ought to wait... There's a higher ranking piece here. She might want to declare her opponent." Halloween spoke.

Gaira and Alan glanced at each other. If they were to speak now, Halloween, Alibaba, and Candice would attack the rest of them with their combined strength. Emokis was down, and Leno was too ashamed to continue fighting, so it wouldn't be likely for either of them to fight. It was also likely for someone to die, and that would trigger the Tree of Life.

Candice stepped forward. She turned to Pano: "Jack was pathetic!"

"How dare you!" Pano stood up. She had been crouched beside Jack's corpse for this entire time. Seeing Candice mock him was too much, and Pano readied the Ball Hammer! "If I don't avenge Jack, then I shall die with him!" She yelled.

"Wait, Pan..." Gaira couldn't finish his warning.

"Dimension Arm: Arena!" Candice laughed and disappeared along with Pano.

"Curses!" Alan growled.

"Both of you, what's wrong?" Alviss turned to the two old men.

"Weasel... Weasel planted a terrible plant under this castle. It sucks the energies of the deceased into its roots, which help increase its power. This plant has the ability to raise the dead, without their souls, of course, but with their magical power at three quarters of what it was originally... And with the knowledge of how to use their abilities intact. They can still plan and strategize even though their souls have passed on! There's only one more person who has to die for this 'Tree of Life' to reach maximum potential, and when it does, the Chess's most powerful weapon will be unleashed!" Gaira gasped. Alan nodded frantically. The others were shocked at seeing Alan so terrified.

"But Pano! Pano swore to avenge Jack! Either way, one of them will die! We're doomed!" Dorothy gasped.

"That's right!" Alibaba laughed. Halloween nodded merrily, and activated an Arm: "Dimension Arm: Grand Seal!" He commanded. Alviss, Dorothy, Alibaba, Alan, and Halloween were cut off from the other people in the throne room, as well as the bodies of the deceased by a large, bluish and transparent energy barrier.

"Grand Seal can only be broken when I die... You'd better look forward to what'll happen soon! Once we get our last required death, I will be able to activate the Tree of Life's energies, and none of you will be able to stop me. Darkness Arm, Sealing Skull, make none of us able to do anything!" Halloween laughed.

Alan and Alviss were about to attack Halloween, but they were both frozen in place, along with everyone else, including those behind the barrier. "Now, we wait..." Halloween laughed again.

--------------

Pano and Candice appeared in the same rocky field where Jack died. Pano raised the Ball Hammer and Candice raised the Boulder Axe. "I'll kill you!" Pano snarled. Candice merely gave her a sweet smile.

"Ball Hammer! Separate and Divide!"

"Nature Arm: Clay Pigeons!"

The four sections of Ball Hammer rushed at Candice, while the girl replied with her Clay Pigeons. Pano seeing that these Pigeons were closing in on her with great speed, activated Rabbit's Feet. She began to try to outrun the Pigeons, though that didn't seem to faze them in the least. The Pigeons still pursued Jack's widow with great vigour. (1.)

Realizing that there was little she could do, Pano used her Gravity Arm. Both Candice and Pano were pinned, and both Ball Hammer and Clay Pidgeons were stuck on the ground.

"Nature Arm: Crevasse!" Pano ordered. The Clay Pidgeons fell into the crack, and promptly exploded. Pano deactivated both Arms afterwards.

"There goes my Arm..." Candice sighed. She thought for a minute: "Boulder Fang and Crush won't be fast enough to catch those Rabbit's Feet, so I'm going to have to fight her in hand to hand combat." Candice raised her Boulder Axe. "Come face me, Pano!"

Candice forgot, however, that the four pieces of Ball Hammer were there. They took the opportunity to knock Candice about. A chain Arm attached to Candice's hip was thrown off and landed near Pano, who picked it up.

"Thief! Boulder Fang!" The stalagmites began to burst from the ground, and Pano used her Rabbit's Feet to charge forward. Moving from side to side, Pano finally reached Candice's side. "Weapon Arm: Titan's Knuckle!" Pano smirked. With one punch, Boulder Axe shattered.

"What...?" Candice gasped. Such a feat was nearly impossible.

"When you're in love, you'll do the most irrational and amazing things... You should know what I'm talking about...!" Pano snarled.

A flash of Phantom's face blinked in Candice's mind. "Phantom..." Her eyes widened, realizing that she had to react fast. "Nature Arm: Boulder Cl..."

"Too late." Pano smirked as she punched Candice in the stomach with all of her might.

Using Rabbit's Feet, Pano rushed after the wounded Candice and kicked her square on the chest. As Candice continued to fly higher and higher in the air, Pano eventually landed, and activated the Gravity Dimension Arm. As Candice was being pulled back to the ground, Pano raised the Arm she stole.

All Candice knew was that Pano stole one of her Arms, but when she saw the particular Arm, her eyes widened.

"That's right... I studied his wound. You killed him with this, and now, you'll die from it. Nature Arm: Titanic...!"

"NO!" Candice screamed.

Pano deactivated Gravty and activated Titanic Spire! Candice was skewered by the Arm she used to kill Jack...

Candice gasped: "Phantom... I... I failed you..."

Pano could only sneer at her. (2.)

Tears fell from Candice's eyes as she felt Death's grip on her. Rolling her eyes towards the sky, she mumbled: "Rolan, Peta, my friends... Phantom, my love... I'll see both of you soon... Ash, dear friend, why did you turn on us? I'll never forgive you... Just like I can't forgive myself... I'm so sorry, Phantom..." Her eyes closed, and Candice stopped moving.

Pano smiled as she deactivated the Arm. "Jack, now you can rest in peace..."

Pano and Candice were warped back, and when Pano had the chance to see her comrades, they only glared at her.

"Perfect!" Halloween laughed.

"Everyone, you'd better not get killed!" Dorothy yelled.

Galian and Gaira stepped back to back, both men readying their main Weapon Arms: The Hiraiken and the Thunder Mace.

Leno turned to Pano: "Sis, the death of Candice allowed the Tree of Life to raise the undead... That was Weasel's master plan!"

"No... I couldn't have..." Pano began to tear.

"Stop crying, and come help us, Pano! Leno, if you're not going to help us, then you're going to get killed by these things, aren't you?" Galian yelled. At that moment, John, remembering that strength lies in numbers, decided to join Galian and Gaira, forming a three man defensive triangle formation.

"For your info, I'd be backed up by those zombies, but I can't betray my family any more. Pano, we'd better help them..."

"Right... Forgive me, everyone." Pano spoke. Pano and Leno rushed to the other three, and the five of them found themselves fighting six zombies. Emokis was still downed, so she was useless. Pinnochio, being a bunch of broken pieces of wood, was on neither side, as he was truly dead.

Behind the blue barrier, Alibaba raised his Dimension Arm. "So it's our turn. Dimension Arm: Arena!" Alibaba yelled. He and Alviss immediately warped away, but Dorothy, as she was being warped, shouted to Galian: "Hang in there, bud! Charley will get his revenge, I promise you!" She called before finally allowing herself to be warped.

"If only she'll keep that promise this time..." Galian muttered as he pointed his sword at the advancing zombie Jack.

Halloween also raised his Arena. "Now we will have our rematch, Alan!" He laughed. The two most powerful men in Mar Heaven disappeared.

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1. I call her a widow because... Well... That'll be revealed soon...

2. There had to be a reason why the Rodkin family joined the Chess...


	21. Selfless

Chapter 21: Selfless

Outside the gate, Ash, Nanashi, Sophie, Julie, and Magical Roe were still alive, along with a thousand comrades. The ten thousand Chess that closed in on them were dead, but another 8000 were closing in on them, and all of them were exhausted.

Suddenly, the dead warriors before them, both of Chess and Cross Guard, rose to face them. (1.) "Oh, shit." Nanashi groaned. Julie turned to look back at the gate guarding the throne room: "That must mean that our allies forced them into a corner for them to unleash their ultimate weapon... Victory is near, so let's fight till they kick Halloween's arse!" Julie snarled.

"Moon Fall!" Ash yelled. The wave of blades ripped through the zombies. Ash proceeded to use Split Part, and, activating four ordinary Scythe Weapon Arms, rushed among the Zombies, tearing through their ranks. Of course, his hands held two of the Scythes and his feet held the other two, so both halves of his body could fight.

"Electric Eye!" Nanshi yelled, blasting the undead ranks with his lightning. Sophie used her Guardian Arm: Screaming Roc, and the bird proceeded to fly above the undead ranks and, by merely flapping its wings, rip them apart with huge versions of the wind slashes of Sophie's own Sonic Blade. Flying in a circular motion, Screaming Roc succeeded in causing a giant tornado that ripped through their lines. (2.)

Julie used her own Weapon Arm: Searing Bow, whose Arrows could rip through waves of the undead. So as Julie and Sophie stood behind their comrades, hitting their enemies from either afar or with a Guardian, Nanashi stood before the pair and defended them with his long range electrical attacks, and Ash and Magical Roe engaged the undead directly. Roe had his own special Nature Arm: Firey Juggle, that let him juggle and toss balls of flame at his opponents. After all, Roe was quite a talented clown.

The fireballs from Firey Juggle happened to explode on contact when they touched a zombie, so dozens of them went down in flames. The five heroes defending their comrades inside continued to bring down hundreds of these zombies. The thousand Cross Guards beside them also fought bravely...

But the zombies were not only at Reginleif.

The Keklon Plains, with the freshly buried graves, burst with zombie troops, and thus the Cross Guards stationed there had problems... Lestava itself had several freshly dug graves rise and attack. Luberia Fortress, with the fallen bodies of the Luberians, soon found that these freshly dug bodies rose to destroy the inhabitants of the fort.

But her majesty Snow witnessed a terrible scene. From the graves of the Chess Pieces at Lestava, Eileen, Marco, and several of those fallen Chess emerged! From the mass grave of Peta's victims at Luberia Fortress, these fallen Luberians arose as new undead warriors. The Cross Guards who gave their lives in the Second War Games rose again to torment the reformed band of Cross Guards throughout the world as well. The Tree of Life was much more powerful than anyone could have imagined.

Tears came to Ash's eyes: "All those who died in any of the Three Wars are back... As the undead... Look at our forces! We're taking casualties as if we were pill-bugs getting crushed by someone's foot. We're doomed..."

"We must fight on!" Julie drew the Searing Bow. Sophie grabbed the Sonic Blade, too, and spoke: "I can't leave this post, but I can slash any zombie who tries to get near us!"

Nanashi's hands glowed with his lightning. "If we die today, we die as heroes!" He cried.

Magical Roe, however, was badly wounded from his attacks on the Chess. He tossed the deactivated Firey Juggle Arm over to Ash, who by then had the scythes in his hands broken from stabbing into too many zombies. "Take this Arm, Ash... I've been badly wounded..." Roe spoke.

Nanashi rushed forward: "Roe! You've taken too much damage! You'd better get back!"

Magical Roe turned to him with sad eyes: "I don't care anymore... I owe everyone for having served the Chess for so long. Alan should have killed me back at Lestava, but since he spared me, it is my duty to fight as a Cross Guard. I've failed to destroy the enemy, and when a defeated general cannot retreat, what does he do? He dies to ensure that his comrades can continue fighting without him being a burden to them... Farwell, comrades. Fight for Mar Heaven... Ash, you might have just joined the Cross Guard, but lead our comrades in my place..."

"Roe, don't be an idiot!" Nanashi yelled.

"Weapon Arm: Blade Ball! Farewell, everyone." Magical Roe sadly got onto the Blade Ball, and though he was badly wounded, the Cross Guard rode the ball into the horde of undead enemy troops...

"Roe!" They yelled, but they received no answer.

------------

Howling Demon ripped a hole through the lines of the Cross Guards of Lestava. Undine could do little to stop Eileen's body.

Fugi and the other Chess commanders who perished during the Battle of the Keklon plains returned to punish their Cross foes, and killed many of them.

The war raged thoughout Mar Heaven, as the fallen bodies of Cross Guards that were buried in their hometowns rose to destroy them. All of the dead were now weapons for the Chess Pieces to ensure their victory. Almost no town was safe from this Third War. Even the Caldean Sorcerers in Caldea were revived, and proceeded to lay seige to their former homeland with their magic...

Selfless heroes died in the tens of thousands as they tried to hold off the dead. Thankfully, their bodies were not revived by the Tree of Life, and their souls could rest in peace knowing that they were not tainted like their comrades who fell long ago.

In the Reginleif throne room itself, these top Knights were giving our heroes problems, and knowing that the dead were revived, Gaira shed tears as he attacked Weasel's zombie: "That bastard has done this to Mar Heaven... His final weapon will destroy everything we hoped to accomplish... Our previous victories are purposeless now that all those who died are ransacking everything! We must prevail!..."

Meanwhile, the duels in the two Arenas were still going on, and everything now rested on Alan's shoulders... Once Halloween left this world, everyone would be saved...

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1. In that context, Cross Guard includes Luberia.

2. This is a fantasy setting. Tornadoes normally cannot be created under such circumstances. (Just to leave a disclaimer that I'm not trying to go against meteorology.)


	22. For Our Future

Chapter 22: For Our Future

"To think..." Alviss sighed as he and Dorothy stood side by side before Alibaba. "To think that my friends all across Mar Heaven are fighting off the revived dead... Weasel was both one of the most terrible bastards who lived in Mar and one of its most brilliant geniuses. He raised that thing, and now its revived this army that will kill us all..." Alviss choked.

Alibaba laughed: "Now we shall rule over Mar Heaven! Diana had no idea what her subordinates were doing, after all... She didn't care what we used, as long as we could fulfill that dream. Now, Mar Heaven is ours! The Cross Guard are finished! Phantom did not die in vain, none of them did! Weasel shall be honored for eternity! You, pathetic lovers of the Cross Guard, shall join your old friends... You're all finished!"

"Broom of Zephryus!"

"Thirteen Totem Pole!"

"Flame Scimitar!"

Alibaba found himself hit by Dorothy's tornado, and when he was about to fall back to the ground, the Totem Poles continuously knocked him in the air. He answered with several flicks of his Flame Scimitar, and the two Cross Guards had to avoid his attacks.

"I'm not the same idiot who lost to Alan, you two!" Alibaba taunted.

"He took out Charley, and he made short work out of our friends at Acalupa Port. There's got to be a way to face him... But my energy rush dissipated after my fight with Emokis..."

"As long as we get him above the ground, A Bao A Qu can get him, since it cannot be countered without a teleportation or a high-class Dimension Arm. I'll stall him while you gather your energy, Al." Dorothy nodded as she went after Alibaba.

"So you've split up? Stupid. Weapon Arm: Ring Dagger!" Alibaba commanded.

Alibaba threw two daggers. One struck Dorothy above her hip, and just missed her kidney, while another got her in the muscle between her left shoulder and the left side of her collerbone.

"Dorothy!" Alviss immediately snapped out of concentration.

"Stay back, Al! Holy Arm: Healing Angel!"

"Why is it that you all have Healing Angel these days?" Alibaba shook his head.

"Hey, for only 50 gold, it's a great investment..." Dorothy snapped.

"It might not be Restore, but knowing her, once she's slightly healed, she can fight..." Alviss thought.

Dorothy yanked out the two Ring Daggers, and they both returned to their master's hands. The Healing Angel helped close both wounds. "You're quite skilled with those, Alviss and I can use them well too... But you won't get it so easy!" Dorothy warned.

"Huh, come try me."

"Thunder Wind!" The witch yelled. The three Tornadoes proceeded to throw Alibaba some distance away, but the Knight calmly got up. "Please don't tell me that's all that the woman who killed Diana can do."

"Broom of Zephryus!" Dorothy flicked her broom again, sending slashes of wind at Alibaba, but the Knight merely dodged them. "You're hesitating, aren't you? Is that because you're trying to get me not to notice your comrade as he attempts to restore the energy he needs for the Guardian?" Alibaba smirked as he raised the Flame Scimitar.

Dorothy's eyes widened: "Al, get rea..."

"Dimension Arm: Black Hole!"

The flare that Alibaba sent for Alviss was sucked away by the Dimension Arm, and Alviss continued his slow regeneration.

"Why the heck are you taking so long?!"

"It seems that Flower Pluck did more damage than anticipated..."

"What a pansy! All I see are a few bald spots. It couldn't have been that bad!"

"No one ignores me and hopes to live." Alibaba warned as he threw another flare at her.

She failed to dodge it in time, and was hit. Screeching, Dorothy swung her broom and blasted waves of wind slashes at Alibaba, but the Knight was barely fazed.

"You're desperate, aren't you, girl? Darkness Arm: Hungry Jaws!"

"What?!" Dorothy looked down, and a pair of jaws was about to sever her, when she felt herself being shot up from the ground, and the jaws found themselves biting against a giant stone pillar.

"If you'd get ready, we can end this!" Dorothy yelled at the blue-haired lad. Alviss quickly deactivated the Thirteen Totem Pole.

"It seems that it's taking way too long. I should fight him for an adrenaline rush..." Alviss thought as he charged forward.

"You're fast, witch!" Alibaba threw another Ring Dagger at her, and she countered with her Zephryus Broom. Alibaba used his scimitar to fire flares at her, but she was still able to counter with the broom.

"If I can't win with those kinds of tactics, then I'll do this: Nature Arm: Blinding Aurora!"

The flash of light from above her went into Dorothy's eyes, and the girl howled as she tried to resist the pain. Alibaba smiled as he used Ring Dagger one more time, sending all ten daggers at her. Four of them hit her shoulders and hips. Another struck her sternum, and the remaining five got her stomach, resembling a large star.

"Dorothy!" Alviss ran towards her, and she collapsed.

Panicked, Alviss snatched her Healing Angel, and tried to take care of her.

"It's pointless, boy. She's down. Now come and face me like a man instead of hiding behind her skirts."

"Ring Dagger!" The Cross Guard rebutted.

A stab to the chest made Alibaba stagger back.

"Thirteen Totem Pole, Cluster Strike!" Alviss ordered. The poles surrounded and smacked Alibaba, and as he was flying, Alviss activated his Guardian: A Bao A Qu.

After bursting the unfortunate Alibaba, Alviss watched as his foe fell to the ground. But, amazingly, Alibaba got up.

"I... I used the energy required to kill someone..."

"But I'm no 'someone.' I'm no ordinary Knight. I am Alibaba of the Chess, and I'm stronger than you could ever be, Alviss of the Cross Guard!" The Chess Piece panted. He had lived, but Alviss could tell that he was badly weakened.

"Al..." Dorothy gasped.

"Are you...?"

"Stop worrying about me, idiot, and get rid of him... I won't die. I can't die, at least, not from anything but old age. Go and take him down... I'll be waiting for you..." She nodded.

Alviss turned to Alibaba: "You're lucky that she's alive. Thirteen Totem Poles, Separate and Crush him!"

Alibaba was hit by the several sections of the totem poles, and as he slowly tried to get up again, Alviss activated Black Hole and had it suck on him from above. Alibaba was unable to resist showing his pain, and began to scream. At that moment, Alviss shouted: "Thirteen Totem Pole!" The last pole hit Alibaba on the back, and Alibaba, having been badly wounded, had his spine snap like a twig. The weakened Knight flew high into the air, and as he began to fall back towards the ground, he gasped when he realized that he could never achieve the title of Honorary Knight. His ambitions were all forfeit now that the young pansy of a man defeated him. Alviss was merely the serious version of Rolan, but he was just as sensitive and needy as Rolan. Dorothy, with her energetic nature and hyperactive disorder, would be a good mate for that pansy. Alibaba felt both rage and sorrow as he fell to his doom.

Alviss panted as he looked back at Dorothy, who had all daggers removed and had her wounds closed by Healing Angel. Healing Angel stopped the bleeding, but couldn't cure her fatigue. Dorothy would be unable to fight for the rest of the battle, at least.

Alviss felt himself being pulled back, and he and Dorothy reappeared in the throne room, behind the blue barrier. Alviss saw his comrades desperately fighting to keep themselves alive. The young lad grabbed Dorothy's hand as the two of them watched John, Galian, Gaira, Pano, and Leno do what they could against their six opponents.

At that moment, another person warped into the room...


	23. My Old Friend

Chapter 23: My Old Friend

(AUTHOR'S NOTE: That's right, my first note intended to be part of the chapter. This is a disclaimer. My profile has a link to the fight between Alan and Halloween in the anime. That fight is epic, and it has been my dream to describe such a fight through words. I hope that you enjoy this upcoming sequel to that fight, and though it (quite honestly) sucks compared to its predecessor, I did what I could with the limited ideas I had. Due to the length of time planned for the story (plotwise) I could not make it long.)

"Alan, here we are in our old hometown..."

"So this is what you chose for your Arena stage. Well, you're the leader of the Chess, and I'm the leader of the Cross. Let us show each other the strength of our forces!"

"Remember that I am the one who commands the Tree of Life now that Weasel is gone. If you want to save those pathetic humans, you must kill me. I look forward to seeing if you've been able to keep your strength, old friend!"

Alan charged his Air Hammer while Halloween readied Napalm Death...

Firing a hail of Air Hammer rounds, Alan made certain that Halloween couldn't get anywhere near him. Halloween rebutted with a stream of Napalm Death bullets, lighting the air around them with several explosions. A smoggy haze covered the sight of the two characters, making it harder for either to see each other.

"Let's clear that up. Cross Dagger!"

A wall of fire burst up around both men, and the Arena became an inferno as Halloween's fire burned every clod of soil around them. Alan found that Halloween's fire could continue burning even on surfaces where fire would die out.

Streams of flame danced in front of Halloween, their sheer heat forcing the smoke to dissipate. Alan was honestly shocked to find Halloween's flames so intensely powerful. (1.)

"Now, let's start the grill." Halloween laughed. Two plumes of flame flew towards the Cross Guard, but all they succeeded in doing was making Alan's clothes a little darker.

"Don't think for one minute that I haven't improved either, Pump!" Alan growled.

Activating Flame Hand before hand, Halloween prepared to burn Alan with the Sticks of Fire!

Billows of Flame shot forward, but were instantly countered by Alan's Flame Dragon Arm. Both men, having mastered their own pyro techniques, were both able to skillfully utilize their respective pyro-based Arms against each other.

A massive explosion burned away whatever buildings, or imitations of buildings, remained near the pair. With flames cackling all around him, Alan knew that Halloween was trying to scar him with the image of his hometown in flames.

"And I thought you were susceptible to mental torment. Didn't Chaton scare you into submission simply by letting you see her?"

"Bastard! All you do is taunt and play with fire. Can you really fight like a man, Pump? Bring it on!"

"Despise me if you wish. It only makes me happier to see you so angry. Darkness Arm: Grave Hail!"

"Your skeleton army, eh? How ironic that, throughout Mar Heaven, warriors on my side have to deal with threats like this. Air Hammer!"

Alan launched several bullets past the skeletons and took out the coffins, but as he was doing so, Halloween had already planned a tactic to take him on. "Guardian Arm: Trick or Treat!" He commanded.

The explosive plants popped up all around Alan.

Halloween did not cease his attack with that Arm alone. "Nature Arm: Napalm Death!"

"Wait, you...!"

Each Napalm Death bullet hit one of the plants, causing a chain reaction that covered Alan's body in flames and made it impossible for Alan to see anything within thirty feet of him.

As Alan was trying to keep his cool, Halloween put the pressure on his foe with a swift Antares! The inferno kept Alan at bay long enough for Halloween to prepare his Guardian.

The flarestorm was vast and painful. When it finally began to die down, Alan was greeted by the giant Wakan Tanka.

"So it seems that our choice of Arms have not changed." Alan smiled as he fired Flame Dragon at the large skeletal monster. Realizing that the fire-breathing best was hardly affected by the dragon, Alan pelted it with Air Hammer bullets.

The Wakan Tanka, though able to withstand Alan's blows, still showed signs of pain after being hit by about thirty of them. (2.)

Alan continued to pelt the Guardian until it became angry and flew at him while covering him with its firey breath. Alan, however, calmly activated Saint Anger, and the creature attempted to defend itself, greeting the left hand of Alan's Guardian with a plume of flames, but the right hand grabbed Wakan Tanka from the back of the head and squeezed it until the Arm could no longer stay active. Like before, the Arm was smashed to pieces by Saint Anger.

But Halloween was not fearful. In fact, he laughed, and as Saint Anger approached him, Halloween covered himself with flames. Then, focusing his fires, Halloween suddenly shot a stream of plasma at one of the hands, burning a hole through its center and thus rendering it useless. The other fist of Saint Anger flew at the Knight, but suffered the same result.

"You... You can utilize plasma now?"

"That's how far my powers have gone, old friend. But it looks to me like you haven't manipulated your Arms to their limits, like I have."

Alan thought for a moment. There had to be a way to take down Halloween. But Halloween, noticing his opponent strategizing, took the offensive and fired a plasma beam at Alan, who was forced to dodge the beam and attack recklessly. After all, Alan had taken little damage so far, and he could theoretically dodge a plasma beam if he was alert and swift.

Halloween unleashed another plasma beam at Alan, who moved to the side and struck at his foe with an Air Hammer to the side. Alan continued to fire several Air Hammers, then suddenly used Flame Dragon, and allowed the Arm to propel him some distance away. Halloween, however, smiled and turned his body, since Flame Dragon did not do nearly as much damage to him as Air Hammer could. This time, the beam succeeded in hitting Alan's thigh, causing the warrior to go down. Smiling, Halloween used Cross Dagger to burn Alan's body, and laughed as he watched the flames cackle.

Turning away from his fallen foe, Halloween spoke: "Arena, take me back to Reginleif!"

He disappeared from the Arena, and was warped back to the castle...

-----------

"No..." Alviss's eyes widened as Halloween entered the throne room.

"So, it seems that your girl was taken down by Alibaba." Halloween chuckled. The other heroes, busy fighting the undead, could not hear Halloween's words.

"You... You will not harm her!"

"You're right. Not now, at least. After I get rid of you, then she'll be hopeless."

"Halloween of the Chess, you may have taken down my friend and teacher Alan of the Cross Guard, but you will not get past me. Mar Heaven will be saved!"

"You talk like a rat about to be eaten by the eagle. You are doomed, Alviss of the Cross. Dimension Arm: Arena!"

Alviss and Halloween teleported back to the same grounds where Halloween downed Alan minutes earlier. Mar Heaven's fate would be determined by this next battle. (3.)

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1. According to Wikipedia, and Wikipedia never lies, that Arm is known as "Sticks of Fire." I will use that name to refer to it from now on.

2. In my opinion, Guardians, many of them being giant animals, can feel pain. I think that has actually been addressed in the course of the series, though I'm not sure which chapter (or episode.)

3. All I can say is, no, fellow Alviss fans, Alviss will not win that fight... Halloween is just too strong...


	24. This is The End

Chapter 24: This is The End (1.)

Both warriors were warped into the arena. There were charred remains of buildings several feet away from their insertion point, but Halloween felt that there was no point to attack them. He could kill Alviss swiftly, without losing much energy.

Alviss readied the Thirteen Totem Rod. He could not hope to engage Halloween in close range combat. Based on whatever magical power he could sense from his opponent, Halloween's might far exceeded his own. All he could do was try to find a weakness and exploit it.

"Flame Hand!" Halloween smiled, showing off two huge hands of fire.

Alviss deactivated the Thirteen Totem Rod. He had only activated it to get Halloween off guard, but surprisingly, Halloween did not seem to underestimate him.

"Thirteen Totem Poles, Separate and Crush Him!"

"Cross Dagger!"

The flames hungrily flew at the sections of the Totem Poles that were sent to crush Halloween. They were successful in melting them.

The Thirteen Totem pole quickly deactivated itself to its chain on Alviss's hip, in order to avoid utter destruction.

"His flames are so powerful..." Alviss mumbled.

"Still willing to face me, Alviss of the Cross Guard?"

"You doubt my conviction to destroy you? Huh, how foolish!" Alviss scoffed.

"Well, then show me what you are capable of."

"Thirteen Totem Pole!"

Once again, these poles tripped Halloween, but the Knight was barely hurt.

"Weakling. Antartes!"

Alviss lept out of the way, thus avoiding a direct hit, but the explosion that erupted when Antares struck the ground actually blew Alviss back, burning him in the process.

"No... I will not be defeated again..." Alviss winced, thinking of Belle.

"Sure looks like you will be..." Halloween laughed.

"Dimension Arm: Black Hole!" Alviss put the Arm directly above Halloween, so it sapped his flames away, but Halloween laughed: "It's quite interesting to have your hair forced to stand on end. But, seriously now, did you think that such a Dimension Arm could possibly hurt me?"

Alviss realized that Black Hole could do little to take Halloween's energy away, so, to avoid wasting his magic, he deactivated it. Activating Thirteen Totem Pole again, he sent Halloween into the air. The adreniline from the fight with Alibaba kept his magic high, so he used A Bao A Qu on Halloween...

But the glass ball ruptured before Alviss could order it to do so...

Halloween used his plasma beams to rip through A Bao A Qu's glass ball and thus escape. He laughed at Alviss as the youth could only stare at him in shock.

"You're finished, lad. Surrender or die. There's no other option for you." Halloween laughed aloud as he landed on the ground.

"There is one, Alviss. DUCK!" Alan's voice yelled.

Alviss ducked, and Halloween turned his head. "What the-?" He was answered by Alan yelling: "Air Stream!"

It looked like an Air Hammer bullet was caught in the Arm, and because of that, an elongated version smashed into Halloween, and a blob of white consumed the Knight's head and kept on going. Alan had pushed Air Hammer to the limit, and the Arm answered him with a beam of concussive air rather than a single bullet. Halloween unlocked the Plasma ability of Sticks of Fire, and Alan succeeded in unlocking this Air Stream attack.

Halloween could only gasp: "How is it that you were able to do this?"

"Focus, my old friend, focus... You were stupid enough not to make sure that I was really gone for good. You just left the area to take out Alviss. Did you seriously think that a shot to the hip would take me out? You've grown stupid, Pump."

"How dare you... Call me by that name?! But... I am finished... This is far too powerful... Damn you, Alan of the Cross Guard! Even in the end, I could not defeat you!..." Halloween screamed as the Air Stream finally took out his mask and burned his face away!

-----------

The zombies in the throne room instantly collapsed, and throughout Mar Heaven, the undead finally returned to their constant sleep and fell. The Chess Pieces had lost.

----------

Alan turned to Alviss. "Let's head back. They're waiting for us." He smirked. Alviss nodded, and the three of them were teleported back to Reginleif.

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Emokis awoke to find herself in a room full of enemies. Lords Halloween, Weasel, and Rolan were dead, as was Lady Candice. Her enemies were tired and weak, but they could still kill her. Seeing Alviss and Alan around made her immediately collapse on the ground and plead for mercy.

Alan laughed at her cowardice, and turned to Alviss: "You said that raising the Cross Guard flag over this citadel would destroy what's left of the Chess morale, right? Then I'll get right to that. You can watch over Dorothy and the others." Alan turned, smashed the wall with Air Hammer, and moved forward towards the flagpole.

-------------

Five minutes later, Nanashi burst into the throne room, with Sophie, Julie, and Ash rushing in after him. Gaira and John were slouched over, both too exhausted to move. Pano was knocked out on the ground, and Leno was hastily trying to take care of her. Galian was leaning on blunt side of Hiraiken, looking extremely tired. The bodies of the Chess champions Weasel, Ekiar, Rolan, and Candice were lying about, along with the fallen corpses of Jack and Chaley, and, to their delight, the burnt remains of Halloween. Emokis was crouched in the corner, continuously declaring her surrender. Beyond them Alviss was crouched over a barely conscious Dorothy. There was a huge hole in the wall, which indicated that Alan had gone ahead to raise the flag. Julie and Sophie pulled out Restore Holy Arms and immediately went to work on their injured comrades, and moments later, Alan reentered the room. "Everyone, the colors have been raised. They've lost." He smiled as he crossed his arms. With the Cross Guard flag raising high in the air, Kouga, the last surviving Knight of the Chess Pieces, surrendered to the Mar Alliance. The war was finally over...

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1. The title is from a song I heard while watching Apocalypse Now. It went something like: "This is the end, for you my friend..." I thought it would be nice for a title.

Author's warning: If you happen to despise Alviss or Dorothy as characters, well, first of all, let me applaud you for reading my fic up to this point. Both of them have huge roles in the Epilogue, so you probably wouldn't want to read it... However, I can assure you that, because this was a Romance fic as well as an Adventure fic, I did my best to make the Romance not sound corny. There are also some 'deleted' scenes I happened to put up. They're mostly meant for laughs...


	25. Epilogue:  Happier Days

Epilogue: Happier Days

"The war's over, Al... Now you can have the peace you want..." Dorothy smiled. The man who received the smile knew what it really meant, though.

"Dorothy, go enjoy yourself. I won't stop you..."

"I... I don't really understand..."

"What?"

"I'm about to embark on the journey that will achieve my dream, yet I feel so hesitant..."

"Don't worry. I'm sure we'll meet again..."

Dorothy blushed: "I don't understand... I feel like I've lost something already..."

Alviss smiled: "It'll be fine. I don't think that fate plans to be cruel to either of us..."

"Good bye, Al."

"Farewell, Dorothy."

Turning away from him, she readied her broom and began to fly away. But moments after takeoff, she began to feel empty, like a piece of her heart suddenly went missing... "It can't be... Does this mean that I...? Well... Even if I have... I can't let that stop me... Not now, when what I've been dreaming of ever since I had a taste of the outside world is about to be fulfilled... But I will see him again... I can't forgive myself if I don't..." She thought to herself.

Staring after her, Alviss really didn't want her to go, but what could he really do? Dorothy wasn't the kind of girl who would let a man control her actions. No one had authority over her. That's what made her so special... So, well, beautiful... But all he could do now was stand dumbly while she left his side. Alviss shook his head: "Dorothy's going to come back... I have to believe that... I don't think that she doesn't care about me... On the contrary, she might feel the same way..." He mumbled.

_Three years later, a young woman on a metal broom flies towards the glorious Luberian Fortress... She approaches the Fort, only to find the entrance barred. A voice from inside the fort tells her to leave, as she is not an authorized person to be there. But, another voice suddenly greets her:_

"Dorothy! What a pleasant surprise!" A voice yelled from within the Fort. "Open the door, people! She's a friend."

The door opened, and Dorothy saw a familiar face cross his arms and smile at her.

Dorothy smiled too: "Galian. Heh, to think that you'd be the first person to spot me."

"Why, of course!" The man with the lavender bandana chuckled. "Who wouldn't notice a fine lady like you?"

A goblet flew from behind Galian and knocked him on the back of the head. "Since when did you become Nanashi?!" A voice demanded.

Dorothy laughed: "Hi, Sophie!"

Sophie smiled as she emerged from deeper in the Fort: "Great to see you, Dorothy. It's been how long, three years now? You've become a lot taller... And you look great! I guess I can't blame Galian for taking a peek at you."

Dorothy blushed: "Stop that...! But, anyway, where's Nanashi or Julie?"

Galian sighed: "What a pity. They left two days ago on some mission, and told us that they didn't plan to return till Tuesday."

"Tuesday? That's four days from now. I won't have enough time to see him, then... I'm in a bit of a rush." Dorothy sighed.

"Looking for Al, eh?"

"How did you...?"

"We're not stupid, Dorothy." Galian smirked.

"But... But do you know where he is?"

"Al's been a little secretive lately. He didn't let any of us know where he lives... Only Alan and Gaira know, and Gaira's in Elto Town. Alan's back in Lestava, as usual. We saw Al and Alan two months ago, but Al had come with Alan to see us. Gaira's been visiting us often too, now that he's retired." Sophie spoke.

"It's great to hear that they're all doing well... But, then again, why did I even worry about 'em in the first place? They can easily take care of themselves..." Dorothy shook her head.

"You're leaving, right?" Sophie noticed that look in her eyes.

"I really don't want to go, but..."

"We understand." Galian nodded. "And you know where we are. You'll always be welcome here. I'll make sure that our watchmen let you in the moment they see you."

Dorothy smiled: "Thanks, Galian. See you around, you two."

"Take care." The two thieves nodded.

----------

"Dorothy, I'm sure you're here not because you wanted to see me." Alan laughed when the two met face to face.

"That's not true, old man!"

"Let me guess, you went to see Nanashi or Galian, and they told you to meet me here."

"Well... Yeah..."

"Gaira always said that the two of us old men would be the last people you'd revisit, unless you couldn't find Alviss."

"Al-an!" Dorothy groaned.

"See? I know you too well..."

"I wonder why Chaton thinks so highly of an old _jerk_ like you..."

Dorothy mentally snickered when she saw Alan shiver slightly. To call Alan an old jerk was to kick him in the balls. Neither action would have a good result.

"Little brat! Get out of my sight!"

"Fine, I'll just see Gaira, then!"

-----------

Dorothy got on her broom and left Lestava. As she flew towards Elto Town, she could swear that that she saw a small light brown cottage nestled in a small forest southeast of the town. She remembered Alviss saying at that campfire that he wanted to live in a little cottage where no one could find him, and that cottage seemed pretty apart from the rest of the civilized world. Yet, she wondered why it was not so hard to find from the air.

----------

Alviss stared longingly at the sky. Three years had passed, and he spent three years living alone in his dream house. For the first year, life was good. No more blabbering idiots could break his concentration as he sat around pondering about life, nature, and whatever else seemed interesting to him. But after that first year, he began to feel lonely. He went to visit his old comrades more often, and he'd leave his home to go on little excursions to Elto Town where he could converse with his old teacher, Gaira. Two months ago, Alan visited him and told him that he was going to Luberia for some conference, and Alviss was quick to come along. The meeting with Galian, Nanashi, Sophie, and Julie was rather entertaining and refreshing, yet as he saw Galian and Sophie cuddle together and Nanashi and Julie hold hands, something seemed to tug away at his heart.

Now, being extremely bored, Alviss could only stare at the clouds. He thought of her. He saw her three years ago, when she left his side to visit the world. Alviss thought of the fun she must be having, and his own stupidity for not going with her. He told her that they'd meet again, but now that three years had passed, it seemed likely that she forgot about him.

He felt more and more depressed as he stared at the clouds. But, suddenly, he spotted a small black spot in the distance. "It can't be..." Alviss mumbled. The spot had some reddish on its top, and was becoming bigger and bigger...

--------

Dorothy was approaching the light brown cottage when she saw what looked like a blue haired man wearing a blue and white jacket. "It can't be, can it? Bingo! But... But he still hasn't gotten rid of that hideous jacket... Oh, well, I'm one to talk, eh? I've kept wearing this thing for a while... It's either this or my pajamas, and I'd definitely not want to travel in those." Dorothy chuckled to herself as she approached Alviss, preparing to land.

-------

It was her! She did come back! Alviss was so excited that he could puke. He'd waited so long, for three whole years... Seeing her approach him already made him want to dance around in circles... Not that he would, of course... He still had a reputation to uphold!

--------

Dorothy landed in front of him, and found it hilarious that he seemed so surprised. The two underwent a staring contest for a good minute, until Alviss spoke: "Wow!"

She cocked her head to the side: "Wow?"

He grabbed her hand: "Is it really you?"

Dorothy was quite confused: "Al, are you ok?"

"Never been better!"

Dorothy felt worried: "Has being alone in this place turned him insane?" She thought.

"Dorothy... I really don't know what to say... It's been such a long time, and you're just fine! Wow!" Alviss laughed, he had a little leap with his feet that was scaring her.

"Yeah, you have gone insane. Here, maybe this will help." Dorothy raised her broom.

"Huh?" Alviss stared at her.

With a swift motion, Dorothy whacked Alviss in the face with the broom.

"What the hell was that for?!" Alviss growled, one of his hands tried to clench itself into a fist.

"See? I knew you'd be back to normal." She smiled.

"You attacked me because I was greeting you?!"

"No, because you were acting like an idiot!"

"Well, what do you want me to say?!"

"What do you think you should say?!"

"I... No... It's great to see you, Dorothy... You have no idea how long I've missed you..." The youth began to calm down.

She smiled a little, then realized what she was doing, and immediately took a business-like pose: "I'm shocked that you actually managed to get yourself that cottage, and that it's in the middle of nowhere. How did Alan find you, anyways?"

"Well, it's not like anyone with magical power can't sense veterans like us. It's not like we have very little magical power or anything, right?..." Alviss spoke sarcastically.

"That sounds more like you... Jerk!"

"You're the one who whacked me with a broom!"

Dorothy smiled. It seemed that Alviss did have a childish side to that cold and serious exterior.

Inwardly, Alviss smiled too. She looked so much stronger now that she had traversed the world. Yet, her core did not change much. She was still the passionate and strong-spirited girl he knew.

"Al, I'm glad to see that you haven't changed much... You're still an idiot, and that gives me a reason to keep you in line!"

"Oh, and you're just as rude as ever, Daughter of Caldea! To think that three years of traveling did nothing to improve your manners... Tsk, Tsk..." Alviss gave a light shake of the head.

Both smiled as they stared at each other.

----------

_Three years after Dorothy was reunited with her comrades, Ginta Toramizu walked into his apartment after another long day sitting through college classes. After having pulled his academics back on track ever since the Second War Game, Ginta was able to improve himself, and went to a University. This was his third year of College, yet even after all seven years, he had not changed much. He still thought of Mar Heaven, and of how all of his comrades were doing..._

"It's been such a long day... I really need a nap..." Ginta yawned as he plopped himself on his bed. He passed out moments after lying on the bed...

_What's going on? Am I dreaming? It's, it's Mar Heaven! I'm back! But... It looks like everything's changed..._

A translucent, floating Ginta moved along the world of Mar Heaven, but no one seemed to see him. As he flew over Lestava, he saw the Cross Guard flag waving proudly. "Ah, so the Cross Guards were reformed." He smiled.

_Then he noticed that a few statues were erected in Castle Lestava. One of them was Jack, which was strange. Jack wasn't the kind of person who wanted to have a statue. Another was of Magical Roe, with a Cross Guard Emblem etched on his back. A third was of a strange man with a mohawk and an eyepatch, and he had Luberia's emblem etched on his arm. The last was of Rolan, who was smiling and had his hand placed on his heart._

Ginta was perplexed. Why was Magical Roe considered a Cross Guard, and, more importantly, why was Rolan being honored as well?

Ginta could swear that he heard a few bells ringing loudly to his left. He glided over there, and found that these were the bells of a large cathedral.

Glinding over the windows, he saw many decorations, and Gaira was standing on some podium. A woman in a bride's outfit was ascending the podium... Wait... It couldn't be... That woman was Dorothy!

Ginta smiled. So Dorothy did find love after all! But who was the lucky suitor?

He turned his head to look down the aisle, and, to his surprise, the groom was Alviss! (1.)

Other familiar faces began to pop up. Nanashi was cheering Alviss on as he marched along. A blonde haired girl was with Nanashi as well. Galian was sitting next to Nanashi with his fist in the air. He too looked quite pleased and supportive. A brown-haried girl was sitting next to him.

Alan was standing at the right wall of the cathedral, with his arms crossed and with a smile on his face. He seemed rather pleased with the match-up as well.

Ash and some strange man with long golden hair and wearing white robes were both standing around and smiling at Alviss, watching him ascend the podium and stand before Dorothy. Gaira seemed to be the minister for their wedding.

Dorothy blushed, and Ginta smiled. She looked so happy. Suddenly, though, her eyes looked up, and Ginta froze. She spotted him! Dorothy gasped: "GINTA!"

Alviss turned and had a shocked expression on his face when he saw Ginta, as did Gaira. The other familiar faces ran towards the couple to take a look. Sure enough, all of them recognized him.

"You've returned! What are you doing up there? Come down here, Ginta!" Gaira called.

Ginta floated through the window, and Dorothy grabbed onto Alviss's arm, a little scared of what she was seeing. Alviss and the others were also alarmed.

"Everyone... I must be dreaming... To think that I get to see Mar Heaven during your wedding, Alviss, Dorothy."

The word 'dreaming' seemed to ease them a little, and they began to calm down.

"Ginta, it's such a blessing to see you! It's been seven years now..." Alviss spoke.

"Seven years, yeah, it's been a long while. What happened? I saw Cross Guard flags everywhere, and the statues of Jack, Rolan, and Magical Roe..."

"Well..." Alviss looked away, and Dorothy had a sad look in her eyes. Dorothy sighed and gripped tighter on Alviss: "I promised his mother that he'd survive... But Candice..." She began to tear.

"Calm down, Dorothy..." Alviss put his hand on her shoulder.

"What...?"

Galian answered solemnly: "Jack of the Cross Guard died in battle against Candice of the Chess Pieces."

"What?! You mean to say... That Candice killed Jack in the end? And that the Chess were revived? Why... Why didn't you call me?..."

"Why? Well... Does the fact that Cross Guard flags are waving everywhere and the fact that Dorothy and I are getting married seem strange to you?" Alviss shook his head. He hated stupid questions.

"So, you guys won..."

"Ginta, your assistance did wonders for Mar Heaven, but if we were to depend on outsiders for our survival, then how could we ever ensure our own security? Phantom was gone in the Third War, and Halloween was in charge." Gaira began to explain.

"War? Not War Game?"

"No, the Chess were smarter this time around. They focused on conquering Mar Heaven, and took control of the entire Western Continent and much of the Northern Continent before Alviss here made a plan to infiltrate their capital and defeat them... Though we lost Jack and Magical Roe in the process..." Alan spoke.

"So those two fought with you guys..." Ginta mumbled.

"Roe was a Cross Guard after the Second War Game, and he died a Cross Guard. He more than made up for his betrayal when he was our enemy, Ginta. All Jack wanted was to avenge his father once and for all, but cruel fate did not give him that chance... He, too, died a hero. It would be a sin to forget their noble sacrifice..." Alviss sighed.

"We did what we could to fight off the Chess... Galian and Gaira here played critical roles. Half of our battles would have been lost if Gaira didn't use his Guardian to wipe out the Chess infantry. Galian served as a key Luberian ally who helped us rally Luberia to our cause, support our advances through occupied Chess territory, and eventually take down Rolan... Ash, too, helped support us in the end. So many things changed in that last War, and sometimes I'm still amazed that I'm still alive, Gint-an." Dorothy sighed, turning her head towards Lestava as she thought of those who died.

"But anyway, didn't he interrupt something?" Nanashi laughed. Alviss and Dorothy, the couple who were about to tie the knot, glared at Nanashi. There were some things that were more important than fulfilling an old tradition. They had already exchanged vows beforehand, in a sense, and they hadn't seen Ginta in seven years. Seven years was a rather long time. So much had changed over that time. So many lives were changed in that time. It took only three years without seeing Dorothy to turn Alviss insane, so it was not surprising that both took this reunion so seriously.

Ginta smiled: "But Nanashi's right, I upset the moment. Still, to hear that you guys were victorious once again against the Chess is wonderful news! But, but why does Rolan have a statue?"

Everyone else had a sad look on their face. "Galian..." Alviss turned to his friend. "Do you want to explain?"

Galian sighed: "Rolan was third in command in the Chess, but he had a loving heart. He loved Phantom, and he did everything for him. Rolan was well aware that he was doing evil deeds, but, in his eyes, his duty to his friends and his love for Phantom could not be countered by something as fickle as a conscience. Rolan knew much about love and loyalty, and we should learn from his sense of those virtues..."

"Huh..."

"It's so good to have you here, Gint-an." Dorothy smiled. Alviss smiled too. All of their comrades raised their glasses (or their fists) as a greeting to Mar's hero.

"Alright, people, let's continue the program!" Nanashi yelled.

------------

Bride and Groom left the assembly fifteen minutes later, hitching a ride on Toto. (2.)

Ginta could only stand there and smile at the couple as they disappeared into the distance. "Is this what they call a happy ending, Gaira?" He turned to the old man.

Gaira sighed: "I don't know what to call it anymore. Pano and Leno are doing what they can to raise Jack's son, but the boy has no father... (3.) Though Luberia and the Cross Guard are both flourishing, the damage Weasel did to Mar Heaven can never be completely remedied... So many lives on all sides have been scared by the Third War, and though its been six years since that war, none of us have been able to completely recover. Alviss and Dorothy were brought together by their mutual respect and adoration for each other and for the fact that both need someone to stand by them, as they've each suffered mentally from the effects of both the Second and Third Wars. Ginta, I have no idea when any of us will be able to laugh away the pain and dismiss it in the back of our minds. We can celebrate our victory, we can dance about until we are drunk, but those bitter memories will never leave us..."

"But look at it this way, you didn't need to hide behind someone like me or my father. Together, you destroyed the Chess and saved Mar Heaven for good. The Cross Guard and Luberia will both look out for the world, and no one will be able to stop their combined strength. You won, and now is the time to rest and celebrate. Those memories are bitter, and I'm sure that all of you feel great pain, but you still have each other. Jack, Magical Roe, and everyone who died fighting beside you will not be forgotten. You have happier days to spend now..." Ginta smiled.

"Maybe... Maybe that is so, Ginta... Maybe these are happier days..." Gaira looked out into the distance. The old man didn't notice Ginta disappear moments afterwards.

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1. Marriage may seem freaky, but they've known each other for seven years now. They are both adults, and though one can say that they're marrying too early, this is a medieval setting, so they're marrying rather late for those times. Alviss also waited a lot later than Jack. A LOT.

2. That's right, kids. Guardian Arms do have practical uses outside of combat!

3. And yes, Pano was pregnant with Jack's son! Quite the pig, wasn't he?

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Over the making of this fic, I had many ideas that sounded either stupid or corny. With the intention of making you guys have a light laugh, I'm going to post them now:

Halloween's Ultimate Arm

Halloween and Alan were standing before each other in the ruins of their old Hometown. The enemy Knight had just witnessed Wakan Tanka get defeated by his opponent... Again!

"Long ago, Magical Roe found himself in a similar situation. You were standing before him, challenging either Roe himself or his subordinates to battle, yet Roe chose the perfect person to face you. Now, in a similar plight, I shall use the best Arm against you! Guardian Arm: Fiery Cat of Doom!"

"MEOWER!" A giant, fire-breathing behemoth of a house cat appeared in the Arena.

Alan gulped: "I... I... Uh... Give up! Don't hurt me!..."

Halloween stared at him for a few moments, absolutely speechless.

-------

Lestavan Postal Service

"Gaira, we need to deliver something to the Luberian Fortress." Alan yawned, handing the older man a package.

"Leave it to me! Guardian Arm: Charybdis!" Gaira nonchalantly tossed the package into Charybdis's mouth. The package swirled faster and faster in the vortex. Amazingly, it hadn't fallen apart from the water.

"Spit it out!" Gaira commanded.

The package flew high into the sky...

_Two minutes later..._

A large brown object came falling out the sky. With a crash, it rammed into the Luberian Fort, taking out a huge section of the wall.

"We're under siege!" Nanashi ran around in circles. Galian examined the package: "What strange ammunition these foes have... Huh?... Is this glass?"

---------

The Old Liar

Gaira and Weasel were standing before each other in a huge garden.

"Gaira, my boy, I have something to tell you."

"Trying to blabber on as to how your thirty-five additional years of experience are far superior to mine?"

"No... I am your father!"

"... Oh... So you abandon me for fifty years, and then, when I'm about to take you down, you reveal this kind of information? Do you know how many times I cried in the night? How many times I asked myself...?!"

Gaira began to cry, and Weasel stared at him: "Hmn, so lying does pay off..."

-------

Secret Lovers

"I wonder why Magical Roe hardly ever left Castle Lestava..." Alviss pondered.

"I mean seriously! If he was strong enough to take on a legion of Chess, then he should have been helping us from the beginning!" Nanashi snarled.

Meanwhile... Deep in the castle chambers...

"Roe... If only... If only I had the chance to show my undying love for you!" Snow moaned, staring at the ceiling...

Edward had quite a disturbed look on his face when he left her quarters...

-----------

Not Quite Dead

Alviss and Dorothy were riding on their faithful steed, Toto. They were married, and now they had a lifetime to spend together...

Well, they might have one, but there was a slight problem...

"No one steals my Alviss!" Belle snarled, her burnt corpse rising from the little grave at Lestava that Alviss provided for her. The zombie Belle proceeded to swoop as fast as she could for Alviss's cottage.

_Meanwhile..._

Alviss and Dorothy entered the cottage. "Are you sure that you don't have anything you need to unpack? No luggage or anything?" Alviss seemed surprised.

"No, not really. Remember, I have this: Dimension Arm: Zipper!" Dorothy called upon the Dimension Arm, and proceeded to take out crates full of belongings from it.

Alviss nearly fainted, realizing that more than three quarters of his cottage would be filled with her belongings...

_But the pair did not notice the small thing flying outside the window..._

Belle cackled: "Alviss will be mine!" When Alviss went outside to get some fresh air, Belle quickly flew through the door.

Dorothy set up all of her things all around Alviss's dream home. Whatever space it lacked was prominent now that more than three quarters of what was available was filled with her things. "Whew... Better get myself a drink of water..." Dorothy brushed her forehead with her arm and went into the kitchen.

Rather conveniently, a cup of water was already on the dinner table.

Belle snickered as she watched Dorothy from afar: "My plan is flawless! She was working hard, unpacking her things, so I poured her a cup of water... And put poison in it! Ha ha! Alviss shall be mine!"

Dorothy looked at the cup questioningly. She picked it up, and sniffed it: "Couldn't be... This smells funny..." She sniffed the cup, shook her head, and tossed the water out the window. When it hit the ground, it burned some grass.

Alviss, hearing the sizzling, ran to the scene. The couple stared at each other in surprise. "Something must be wrong with the well..." Alviss ran off.

Belle was furious: "That wretch has a good nose... But I won't give up! Alviss will be mine!"

Dorothy looked uneasily as Alviss ran off, and sighed: "To think that his paranoia didn't help him notice something for once..." She proceeded to give herself another tour of the house. Belle flew behind her, plotting how to destroy her rival, when Dorothy suddenly froze: "A fly?"

Belle covered her mouth. Dorothy had heard her. Belle hoped that the witch didn't know what Belle's identity was.

With a flick of the wrist, Dorothy attacked Belle with a small wind gust. Belle was sent flying out of the cottage, and Dorothy ran forward and slammed the window shut. "The last thing I need is a fly infesting our home!" The witch snarled.

"Curses... I must get Al to notice me..." Belle thought.

A sparrow happened to be flying overhead. Seeing Belle staying there in midair, the sparrow assumed that she was a beetle.

Alviss was too preoccupied to notice that Belle was being pursued by the little bird, and soon, Belle was swallowed whole.

After checking the well and finding it to be fine, Alviss turned and hummed to himself as he reentered the cottage.

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And that's all of the random stuff I could think off...

Therefore... This fic comes to its end:

_The people of Mar Heaven could finally rest in peace. Never again would the Chess be able to destroy this beloved land:_

_A Fourteen year old boy rallied the demoralized to victory... Fourteen heroes stood together in the final showdown... Fourteen years of pain in Mar Heaven finally came to an end..._

FIN

Thank you, everyone!


End file.
